The Emerald Knight
by VenomSpider33
Summary: The Girls are in for one hell of a semester. New enemies, new missions, and to top it all off a new teammate. But this new teammate has a special connection with Weiss and a reputation a mile wide. Can the girls survive their second semester at Beacon, or will the Darkness devour them? WeissxOC, RubyxBlake, JeaunexPyrrha, RenxNora, YangxOC VelvetxOC Standard Roosterteeth language
1. Chapter 1

Name: Edward Gawain

Age:17, almost 18

Gender:Male

Height: 5 10"

Hair/Eye color: Green hair, green eyes

Weapon of choice: Two guns, both resembling Alucard's from Hellsing, one pure black named 'Black King' with the name engraved in white, and a pure white one named 'White Queen' with the name engraved in black, and both guns fire compressed particles of dust, stunning normal humans, but against a Grim they have the effects of and he also uses a green guard-less katana named Arbiter, and the sword has a kinetic redirection device that absorbs the energy produced from whenever the blade impacts something, and can use that energy to produce shockwaves of varying power

History:Edward Gawain is the son of Richard and Jennifer Gawain. Richard Gawain was Schnee Corporations top scientist, revolutionizing the safety of the Dust mines. Richard was on Eiss Schnee's, Weiss's father, team at Beacon. Because of this, the two families were very close, and Ed and Weiss grew up together as best friends. Over the years, they started looking at each other as more than friends, and when they were 13 Ed got up the courage to ask her out. One day, when Ed was 15, Richard was working on a way for miners to be able to survive hostile environments using nanites. Ed was visiting his fathers work with his mother, and on that day Roman Torchwick attacked, Edward was badly burned by fire, and Jennifer was shot by one of Torchwick's thugs. Richard had been badly wounded, and right before he died, used the only working batch of nanites to save Ed's life. Wracked with survivors guilt, Ed went around traveling, protecting mines for two years, and earned a reputation as 'the Emerald Knight'.

Personality: Ed is a very kind and gentle person, and very protective of his loved ones. He usually leaves his enemies alive, but there is one thing he does not tolerate: those who take the life of innocents. Those are the only people he has killed. Wracked with survivors guilt, and has a fear of fire.

Appearance: Shaggy green hair, green eyes. Wears a black vest over a green hoodie. Wears blue jeans, and wears black finger-less gloves. Personal symbol is two pistols, one white and one black, crossed in an X, with a green sword in the middle, located on the gloves and back of the vest. Sword is strapped onto his back, and the guns are in holsters underneath the hoodie. Right arm is a cybernetic prosthetic.

Color designation: Green

Special abilities: Nanites give him Captain America-level speed, strength, and reflexes, along with a healing factor that allows him to heal from flesh wounds immediately.

Enemies/rivals(Optional): Roman Torchwick.

**A/N: I do not own RWBY. That honor belongs to Monty Oum and the guys and girls Rooster Teeth. Except Gavin, because he's a knobhead.**

**An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi**

A man walked through the frozen tundra, wearing a green hoodie, blue jeans, and gloves with two pistols, one white and one black, crossed in an X shape and a golden sword in the middle, embroidered on both of them, and on the back of the hoodie. He carried a sword sheathed in its scabbard strapped to his back. He saw a settlement nearby, and knew this was his destination. Walking into a nearby inn, he laid a few bills on a table. "I'll take a room and some food, please." He said, and removed his hood to revealing a boy of about 17 with a mop of green hair and stunning green eyes. A lady came forward and placed some soup on the table, and she took a few of the bills.

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't give you a room here. Our poor town is having trouble with bandits, and if we give anyone room here they'll kill us all."She said, and the boy looked at her, mouth full of soup.

"mfff, Im nfnef hei." He said, and then swallowed the soup. "Whoa, that's nice and hot. Anyways, don't worry, I'm here to save the town!" He said, and the woman looked startled."Don't be shocked. Mr. Schnee would rather die than see his employees terrorized by bandits." He said, and her eyes widened even more.

"Y-you work for Mr. Schnee? But you look around the same age as my son!" She said.

"Well, my parents tried to make life in the mines easier, and I'm continuing their work in my own way." He said. "So don't worry, after tonight, you'll all be free to go about your lives without having to worry about any more bandits." He said, and her face turned serious.

"You're going to get us all killed." She said, and the boy smirked.

"You know, that's exactly what every town I've saved has told me." He said, and the woman left without another word. "By the way, the names Edward-Edward Gawain." He said, and turned back to his soup, pulling a picture containing a white haired girl. 'One day… one day I'll come back to you, and we can be together again, but only when I can look at myself in the mirror again.' He thought, and noticed a small girl, no more than seven or eight, looking up at him.

"Mister, are you really going to save our town?" She asked, and he smiled at her.

"Of course I am. After all, I can't let a few lowlifes run your lives." Edward said, and she noticed the picture in his hand.

"Is that your girlfriend mister?" She asked, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen her in a long time. In fact, the only thing that keeps me going every day is the thought of seeing her again." He said, and he heard the door swing open, and in walked four men in black suits with red ties, all wearing red sunglasses and black bowler hats.

"All right lady, time to pay up." The one in the lead said.

"B-but I paid last week. I barely have enough to keep the inn open." She said.

"Yeah, but Mr. Torchwick wants next month's payment in advance. Says he wants it now incase someone notices your towns little 'recession'." The leader said, and Ed clenched his spoon even tighter at the mention of Torchwick's name. That name brought up bad memories, the blinding pain he felt as the flames devoured his body, the ache in his right arm…

"Hey, boss! I ain't ever seen him before." One of the goons said, snapping Ed out of his thoughts, and the leader turned to Ed.

"Who the fuck are you?" He asked, and Ed just ate his soup. "Hey, I'm talking to you." He yelled, and Ed looked up from his soup.

"Oh that was you? Sorry, I thought that was a fly." He said, and the man got pissed and turned to the woman.

"What the fuck is this? The boss told you that if anyone set foot in this town, you were to chase them out!" He yelled, and drew a large red machete out of his belt. "You know what happens when you don't do what the boss tells you says!" He yelled.

"P-please don't. I needed the Lin for medicine for my son!" She said, and the man grabbed her by her shirt., and Ed slowly unzipped his jacket and reached into it.

"Do I look like I give two shits lady?" Leader yelled, and raised the machete and brought it down over her head...

BANG! BANG!

Only to completely miss her head. Confused, he then saw the blade of the machete on the floor, and turned and saw Ed standing there, smoke pouring from a pure white pistol with a 10-inch barrel with 'White Queen' engraved on the side next to the corresponding chess piece in his right hand. "Well well, looks like we got ourselves a hero boys." Leader said, and one of his goons handed him another machete. "You know how we like to treat heroes, right boys?" He said, and the rest all drew red machetes. Ed simply smirked, and pulled out an identical black pistol with 'Black King' engraved next to the corresponding chess piece.

"Good. I was getting bored just sitting around." He said, and the four all charged him. One slashed downwards, and Ed blocked with White Queen and shot the man in the chest with Black King, sending him flying back into the wall. Another slashed at his head, and he ducked under the swing and swept his legs out from under him, and knocked him out with a blow to the head using the butt of his pistol. Leader grabbed one of the fallen goons' swords, and slashed with both of the swords in his hands. Ed dodged and put White Queen back in its holster, and drew the sword from its scabbard on his back to reveal a green ninjato with 'Arbiter' engraved on the blade. Ed blocked Leader's next slash, and then let go of Black King, grabbed Leader's arm, and threw him into a table, causing it to break under the weight. He then turned to the last remaining goon, sheathed Arbiter, slammed his right first into his hand, and rolled his neck. The goon dropped his sword and raised his hands.

"I don't even like working for these guys." He said, and started to walk towards the door when gunshots sounded and his body thudded to the floor dead. Ed turned and saw Leader limping out the door, muttering and cursing under his breath. Ed then turned to the innkeeper, who was holding her daughter close to her. "You ok if I go after him?" He asked, and she nodded, and he took off after leader after he picked up Black King.

"Fucking idiots... Gonna teach that brat a lesson." Leader mumbled, and hobbled over to the vehicle he used to get there, a black car that resembled the Corvette of the days before the Dust War, and saw Ed walking towards him. "Gonna kill you... Gonna kill everyone in this piece of shit town!" He yelled, and Ed smirked.

"Now just tell me how you plan on that?" He asked, and Leader pulled out what looked like a massive claymore with a massive ammo clip attached to the guard. "Wow, you have GOT to be compensating for something with a sword that big." Ed said, and Leader yelled and brought the sword down, and Ed blocked with his right forearm. "Touchy about that, huh? Guess I was right." He said, and Leader turned the sword into a rocket launcher.

"I will kill you you motherfucker!" He yelled, and aimed at the inn. "But not before I send everyone in that shithole to hell!" He yelled, and fired at the inn. He watched with glee as it neared the Inn, but then saw Ed jump in front of the rocket, catching it with his right hand.

"No one dies here..." He grunted, and then steered it into the sky, watching as it exploded in mid-air. "No one dies here but YOU!" He yelled, and the right sleeve of his jacket burned away to show a gleaming arm made of metal. He then pulled Arbiter out of it's sheath and rushed Leader, plunging it into his chest. Once the life left Leader's eyes, he removed the sword and sheathed of, and turned to the crowd that had assembled to watch. "All of you are now free to return to your lives. If any of you wish to leave the employ of the Schnee Dust Company, you are free to do so without fear of repercussion. All damage done to your town will be repaired, and you will all be compensated for your troubles. The Schnee Dust Company apologizes for your problems." He said turned to leave when he heard the innkeeper call his name. He turned to look at her.

"Thank you, Mr. Gawain. I was wrong about you, and we can never repay you." She said, and he smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it. Though now that you mention it, I could use a room." He said.

The next day, mid-after noon.

Ed hiked over the last hill, and was greeted by the sight of an airfield, with a Schnee private jet waiting for him. A quick jog later, and he saw a female flight attendant greet him. "Hello Mr. Gawain. I trust this job went successful." She said.

"It did, thank you. Were are we headed next?" Ed asked.

"You'll find out once your inside." She said, and Ed followed her in. Once inside, he saw someone holding a Martini in their hand. "Mr. Schnee, he's arrived."

"Thank you Josephine." The person said, and he got up from his chair to reveal a man with blue eyes, alabaster skin, and grey hair. "Edward, glad to hear the job went well. Come have a seat." He said, gesturing to the seat across from him.

"Thank you, Mr. Schnee. Those guys were just a bunch of idiots." Ed said, and sat down across from Mr. Schnee, and saw a silver haired man in a suit with a green scarf and a pair of spectacles. "Who's our guest?"

"Hello Edward. My name is Professor Ozpin, the head of Beacon Academy. I'm here to invite you to join my school." Ozpin said.

"While I'm honored Professor, I don't think Beacons the right place for me. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, the second semester of this year is about to start. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say-"

"Edward, please. You can't keep tormenting yourself." Mr. Schnee said, and Edward looked at his right arm, remembering the accident that took his arm, that turned him into what he is now. "Oz, can you give me and Edward a moment?" Eiss said, and Ozpin nodded and went into another room. "Why do you keep doing this Ed? I could understand if you travelled to clear your head, but it's been over 2 years. If you think you have any debt to me, you've more than repaid it." The Schnee company head asked, and Ed's eyes didn't leave his arm.

"It shouldn't have been me who survived that fire." He said.

"Don't say that Ed. Your father knew what he was doing. He was too good of a man to let his son die." Eiss said. "You know, I'm not the only one who wouldn't mind you going to Beacon." Ed looked up at this.

"You really think that? I mean, it's been two years after all. She probably doesn't want anything to do with me." Ed said, and Eiss smirked.

"On the contrary. After all, the first thing that Weiss does whenever she sees me is ask me how you are. And you should see her when she gets a letter from you." He said, and Ed's entire body language was saying was that he was starting to consider it. A little more prodding would seal the deal. "Please Ed, all I want is to see her happy, and when you started dating Weiss, that was the happiest of seen her since her mother died. She's my greatest achievement, even if she doesn't she it that way." He said. "If you won't do it for yourself, do it for her. Because I know that there is nothing either of you wants more than to see each other again." Eiss said, and a small smile grace Ed's lips.

"Well when you put it like that. His can I refuse?" He said, and Eiss chuckled.

"Good. Oz, I believe you already have a team in mind for him." He said, and said professor out with a tablet in hand.

"Yes. In fact, I believe that given Ed's skills and the skills of this team I have chosen, all five of you will benefit from this." He said, and handed Ed the tablet, and Ed started reading the files on the team.

"Ruby Rose... Blake Belladonna... Yang Xiao Long..." He said, reading aloud, but stopped when he read the final name. A small grin appeared on his face, and steadily grew in size as he read out the last name. "And Weiss Schnee. Can't say I have any problems with this line up. Glad to be aboard, Professor Ozpin."

"Thank you, and we are equally glad to have the famous Emerald Knight attending Beacon." Ozpin said, extending his hand, which Ed gladly shook.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Reunion at Beacon**

At Beacon Academy, an airship pulled into port, and out stepped a load of students back from their winter break. "Ah, it's good to be back!" A young woman with ridiculously long blonde hair exclaimed, stretching her arms. "Man, it sure was good to see the old gang back it Signal, wasn't it Ruby?" She asked, and the red-cloaked figure next to her couldn't help but smile.

"Sure was Yang. Can you believe Gavin actually made something called the Tower of Pimps?" Ruby said, and Yang chuckled at the memory.

"Yeah, and Michael practically having an aneurysm when you beat him at that video game? Priceless." She said, and they both saw a familiar blonde heaving the contents of his stomach into a trash can. "Hey Jeaune! Over here!" Yang yelled, and he looked up from the trash can and waved at them.

"Hey guys! How's it going?" He yelled, and the two girls walked over to him.

"Good, Vomit Boy." Ruby said, and Jeaune groaned at her nickname for him.

"Come on Ruby, I keep telling you, motion sickness is a fairly common problem." He said, and picked up his bags laying on the ground, and the three started walking. "It affects more people than you think." He said, and accidentally bumped into a red-haired girl with a spear and shield strapped to her back. "Oh, uh, hi Pyrrha." He said, trying not to make eye contact.

"H-hi Jeaune." Pyrrha said, looking at the ground. The tension in the air wasn't unnoticed by Ruby and Yang.

"You can just taste the awkwardness right?" Yang whispered, and her sister nodded.

"Something's definitely going on between these two." She said, and the awkward silence remained in the air for a few minutes until a new arrival broke it.

"Wow, and to think that I was actually starting to get into my book." A black haired girl with a bow in her hair and amber eyes said. "Now it looks like I'll never get to finish it." Blake said half-heartedly. In truth, as Ozpin had allowed her to stay on campus while everyone was on break since she had nowhere to go, the quiet was starting to drive her nuts. Usually Ozpin or Goodwitch were there to keep her company, but Glynda had gone to visit her family a few days ago and Ozpin had gone on a trip all of a sudden without saying anything. Usually she had her book, but she had read it so many times she knew it by heart, and there was nothing but parades on TV this time of year. So that left her and a huge empty campus with nothing to do.

"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing over to hug the raven-haired warrior. Not only was she glad to have someone break the silence, but over the break, Ruby had found she had developed a crush on her book-loving teammate. She had told Yang about it, and her party-loving sister said that she loved her no matter what gender she liked. "You have NO idea how good it is to see you." The scythe-wielder said.

"I bet. Having to deal with Yang for two weeks, I bet your ready for some peace and quiet." She said.

"Hey! I can be quiet if I want to!" Yelled an indignant Yang, causing Blake to smile. Yeah, things would definitely be back to normal soon.

"Guys!" A hyperactive voice called, and everyone turned to see Nora and Ren walking over. "How was your break? Mine was good, I mostly spent it with Ren. Oh but we're not together! Well, we're together, but not TOGETHER together. Of course that's not to say he's not attractive, I mean he is, but-" Nora said, but stopped when she realized she was babbling. "Sorry. So, how was your break?" She asked.

"It was good. Got to see our old friends at Signal." Ruby said, and then noticed Jeaune and Pyrrha still avoiding looking at each other. "So uh, what's up with those two?" She whispered.

"Well, right after we got out for break, Pyrrha invited us to visit her home country and meet her family. We went and stayed for about a week, and we had a lot of fun. Right before we left, Pyrrha told Jeaune how she felt about him and kissed him. Honestly, I don't think he knows how to respond to that." Nora replied, and Ruby nodded in understanding. After all, it wasn't everyday that someone like Pyrrha Nikos took a romantic interest in a goof like Jeaune Arc. He probably never had a girl show interest in him like that before, let alone an attractive, talented woman like Pyrrha.

"Well, did he say anything on the way back?" Yang asked.

"No, he just sat in silence the whole flight." Ren said. "He didn't say a word, and had this shocked look on his face." He said. Yang made a mental note to try and hook up Jeaune and Pyrrha later.

"Well, the gang's all here. Now all we need is-" Blake started to say, when she heard a familiar scolding voice.

"And make sure that NONE of that Dust is damaged!" Came the voice of Weiss Schnee, more than likely on the phone lecturing some poor delivery man.

"There she is." Yang said, and the Schnee company heiress came into view putting her phone back in her pocket. "So Princess, everything good in the Kingdom?" The blonde warrior said, and Weiss glared at her, before her eyes softened, discarding the mask of 'Ice Princess' they had worked past.

"Well, my grandfather kept trying to marry me off to the sons of heads of other companies, so I had to spend the last two weeks eating dinner with a bunch of rich air heads." She replied, getting a headache just thinking about all the sleezy men who she had to sit with. Especially that one guy who practically eye-raped her.

"Wow, judging from the way you said grandfather, the guy must be a piece of work." Yang said.

"You have no idea. He doesn't see me as the Schnee Company heiress, he sees me as a business tool. In fact, a lot of those shady business partners Blake mentioned when we first met were made when he was in charge of the company." The heiress said. "Honestly, me and my family want nothing to do with him, but he's on the board of my father's company." She explained, and she remembered how many times he threatened to cut her off after she said she wanted to be a Huntress, but then her father threatened to kick him off the board if he did so.

"Man, what a douchebag." Nora said. "So were any of those business guys nice?"

"Well, there were a few that weren't complete sleeze-bags, but..." Weiss said, but then trailed off. "Well, let's just say my heart already belongs to someone else." She said, and everyone, even Jeaune and Pyrrha, were brought out of what they were doing when she said that. Her teammates, in particular, were interests in this. Even though they had spent the past few months growing closer, they had no idea Weiss had a special someone in her life.

"Care to tell us who it is?" Yang said, eager to find out. She had been trying to hook up Weiss with guys around campus, but she had always turned down the guys she picked. Now she knew why. But now she just HAD to find out who it was who managed to capture the Ice Princess's heart. Weiss then realized that she had given her blonde teammate a new obsession.

"I-it's no one!" She said, blushing, and tried to change the subject. "So Ruby, how was Signal?"

"Sorry Weiss, but you're not getting away from her that easily." Ruby said, and suddenly Yang had one arm around Ruby's head, the other around Blake's, and smirked at Weiss.

"Aw man, it's good to be back!" She said.

One week later

"Oh god it's so boring around here!" Yang said, stretched out on the couch of their dorm. Blake had gone to the library, and Ruby, desperate for a chance to be with her crush, had gone with her, leaving Weiss and Yang all alone. "I want something interesting to happen!" She exclaimed, and was promptly met with silence. "See what I mean!" She yelled, and then heard someone moving behind her. Sitting up, she saw Weiss walking towards the door. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"If you must know, there is a shipment of Dust for Myrtenaster arriving soon, and I am going to meet it." Weiss replied, having already put on her 'Princess' mask, and Yang, having nothing better to do, followed her.

"You mind some company?" She asked, and Weiss merely nodded. "So... You gonna tell me about that guy?" Yang asked.

"No, and I have no intention of telling you no matter how many times you asked." She replied, then her eyes softened. "Although, I haven't seen him in a few years, despite the letter every two months." She said, and Yang digested this. If she hadn't seen the guy in a few years, and from the way she talked about him she still had feelings for him, then he must be very important to her. Weiss quickly slid her mask back into place. "But enough of that. There're the docks. Wait here and I'll be back." She said, and went up to a man unloading something from a ship with the company logo on it.

"Ms. Schnee, I need you to sign for this." He said, and handed her a signature pad which she signed.

"Is this all there is? Is there something green on there?" She asked, and the man thought for a moment, before he snapped his fingers in realization.

"Yeah, we got something green in there." He said, jerking his thumb to the entrance of the ship. Weiss was about to ask him what he meant, when her voice caught in her throat, her princess mask shattering.

Because standing there, a smile on his face, was Edward Gawain. He was taller than when she last saw him, and she could easily tell he was more muscular. Ed started walking over to her. "Hey Weiss. Long time no see." He said, and Weiss's brain was still trying to process what her eyes were seeing.

"E-Ed?" She stuttered out, and he nodded, pulling her into a hug.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." He said, and at that moment Weiss's brain finally rebooted, and she hugged him back, nuzzling ink his chest.

"I missed you too." She said, and they pulled apart to stare into each others eyes, icy blue meeting emerald green, and their lips then met in a kiss.

Yang, who had hung back, watched the unfolding scene with interest. 'Well well, guess I found the Princess's knight in shining armor.' She thought, and felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning around and seeing who it was, she smiled sheepishly when she saw who tapped her. "Well I did say I would find out who it was, didn't I?" She said, scratching the back of her head.

Back with Ed and Weiss, the two stayed like that for a few minutes, before the need for oxygen became too great, and they pulled apart and touched their foreheads together. "Well, that was worth the wait." Ed said, and Weiss nodded in agreement. They were about to go in for another kiss, when Ed noticed the scar on Weiss's left eye. "Who did this to you?" He asked, tracing the scar. Weiss felt a shiver to down her spine when the cool metal of his fingertips touched the scar.

"It's nothing. I just got overconfident and let my guard down against a Giant Armor." She said.

"You know teacher would skin you alive if she found out you let your guard down for even a second." He said, and she cringed at the memory of the hell that woman put them through.

"Don't worry about it. What are you doing here at Beacon?" She asked, taking his hand in both of hers.

"You mean Ozpin didn't tell you?" He said, and she shook her head. "I enrolled in Beacon this semester. As of now, I'm officially a hunter in training." He said, and Weiss was overjoyed. She hasn't seen him in two years, and now they would be attending Beacon together. They then heard someone cough behind them, and turned to see Ozpin, Goodwitch, Ruby, Blake, and Yang standing there, the last of which had a triumphant grin on her face.

"I take it you've already...acquainted yourself with the new student." Ozpin said, and the two separated, their faces red. "Now that these two have gotten their reunion out of the way, I bet you're all wondering why I've called you here." He said, and the three behind him nodded. "First let me ask you a question: have any of you heard of the Emerald Knight?" He asked, and Blake nodded.

"I have. They say he's a swordsman of incredible skill, and that his speed and strength are unmatched. He's been called a 'Hero of the People' because over the last two years, several mines owned by the Schnee Dust Company that had trouble with bandits were saved by him. Why are you asking?" She said, and Ozpin gestured to Ed, who smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. It took a moment, then Blake's eyes widened. "No way. You're telling me that the Emerald Knight, who is said to have driven back an army of mercenaries by himself, and defeated some of the deadliest warriors in the world, is some trust fund kid?" She asked in disbelief.

"Hey, I take offense to that remark." Ed replied. "Besides, the details of that night are greatly exaggerated." He said

"How are they exaggerated?" Blake inquired, and he simply shrugged.

"I had a partner." He said, like it was no big deal. Weiss was shocked. She'd heard the name 'Emerald Knight' tossed around by some of the employees, but never in her wildest dreams did she think that Edward Gawain, the boy she had grown up with, and the Emerald Knight were the same person. "My partner at that time prefers to stay in the shadows, so he let me take all the credit." The others' jaws all dropped when he said that. "What can I say, he's an odd guy. Loves making lame knock knock jokes." He said, but Blake still wasn't convinced.

"Excuse me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Emerald Knight supposed to have 'an arm made of the finest steel'?" She asked. Ed thought for a moment.

"Actually, it's more of a steel-carbon blend or something. You'd have to ask my mechanics." He said, and pulled up the sleeve of his right arm to reveal his gleaming metal prosthetic. "Any other questions? Cause if you want to test my skills I'm more than happy to oblige." He said. The endless questions from the black-haired girl were starting to get annoying. 'Course, if she is who I think she is, it's only natural she'd be suspicious.' He thought.

"Alright then. Tomorrow, after school, main training area?"

"You're on."

"Eh-hem." Ozpin said, a little cheesed that Blake had interrupted him for her Q&A session, but at least now he had a form of entertainment for tomorrow. "As I was saying, Edward here is the Emerald Knight, no doubt about it. The reason I called you all here is because he will be your new teammate." He said, registering the shocked looks on their faces, and saw a large amount of joy in Weiss's eyes. ''Not surprising she would be over the moon with this news. Given how Edward quickly changed his attitude towards coming here when Eiss mentioned her, they must be very important to each other.' Ozpin thought.

"Well, now that you all know who I am, how about we get something to eat? There is no in-flight meal on those ships." Ed said, and now that he mentioned it, it was getting around lunch time.

10 minutes later, they were all eating lunch in the school dining hall. "So, Ed, how do you know Weiss?" Yang asked. Now that she knew who Weiss's mystery man was, she had to get all the juicy details of how they met.

"Well, a little known fact is that my father went to Beacon. Mainly he did it just so he could piss off my grandfather." Weiss began.

"And my father was the son of a Dust miner, and his father died in a mining accident because her grandfather used cheap support for the mines in order to cut cost. After that, my father swore to find a way to make the mines safer for everyone." Ed said. "He'd always been incredibly intelligent, and he decided the easiest way to get the attention of the Schnee Dust company was to get a degree in the Sciences, but unfortunately no college would accept someone from a Mining town. He kept trying, and was eventually accepted into Signal. After graduating from there, he went to Beacon, where he had a...less than kind first meeting with her father."

"When they first met, the two were immediately at each other's throats. His dad blamed the Schnee's for the accident that took his father's life, and my dad had been brought up to believe those not in the 1% were no better than trash. Of course, when the teams were paired up, they landed in the same spot, and Ruby, let me say that they made us look like a bunch of children fighting over a toy." Weiss said, and saw Ruby's eyes widen. "Oh yeah. Whereas we could get along on some things, these two constantly argued with anything the other said. Of course, that left their two teammates to play peacekeeper."

"Who were their teammates?" Yang asked, taking a bite of the sandwich in front of her, while Ruby drank the lemonade she bought.

"One was Professor Ozpin, but we didn't see the other one very often. Whenever we asked, they described him as a 'dusty old Crow'." Ed replied, causing Yang to choke on her sandwich and Ruby to spit her lemonade in Ed's face. "Judging from the shower Ruby just gave me, I'd say you know someone matching that description." He said.

"Sorry about that. That's our Uncle Crow." Ruby said. "He taught us everything we know."

"Small world. Anyways, over the years, they eventually became best friends. After they graduated, our dads were Hunters, until the Board of Director voted that her dad replace her grandfather, and he asked my dad to join him and help improve the mines. They married their girlfriends at the time, and five years later I came along, followed shortly by Weiss here." Ed stated, and gestured to Weiss to continue.

"We grew up together, hell we were best , we started looking at each other as more than that, and when we were 13, Ed asked me out."

"And I don't regret a single thing since then." Ed interjected.

"Wait, at the docks, you two acted like you hadn't seen each other in years." Yang said. "Wanna tell us why?" She asked, and Ed's face fell, his eyes drifting to his right arm, and Blake noticed the look in his eyes.

"You don't have to tell us." She said. She knew that there were some things yet were better left unsaid.

"But I wanna know!" Yang said, sounding like a whiny 5-year old.

"Yang, trust me, there are some things that people don't like talking about." The part Fauna responded. While she still didn't buy into him being the Emerald Knight. She had heard the stories about him while she was traveling with Adam, about how one day he showed up in a mine that had been harasses by bandits, and single-handedly drove them out. The stories painted him as some sort of Knight, being the dream man of teenage girls everywhere, so she had a bit of trouble accepting that a trust-fund teenager was the legendary Swordsman.

"Whatever, I've got a class in a few minutes. Later guys!" The chopper blonde said, and promptly got out of her seat and left. Ruby and Weiss then left, saying they had a 'cooperative teamwork' class for partners who still weren't getting along 100%, leaving only Blake and Ed alone at the table.

"Thanks for steering her away from that. It's not really something I enjoy thinking about." He said, and she smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it. I just know how she can get sometimes. Though that still doesn't mean I think you're the Emerald Knight." She said, and he smiled back at her.

"Of course. I expect nothing less than suspicion from the Black Shadow herself." He said, and Blake's heart stopped for a split second, her face showing intense shock. "Oh yes, I know all about your past. Blake Belladonna, part Fauna, grew up in a small fishing village near the coast until they drove you out, after which you met a man who my sources have identified only as the 'Red Death.'" He continued, and Blake felt herself start to sweat. "After meeting him, you both joined the White Fang, and were together until something caused you to separate yourself from him and the White Fang, after which Professor Ozpin found you and recruited you into Beacon." He finished, and in his eyes, gone were the kindness and warmth she had first seen. Instead there were the cold eyes of someone used to dealing with trained killers.

"Please, you can't tell the others. Especially not-" she started, but then stopped herself when she realized she almost said Ruby's name. The girl was one of her first true friends after Adam, and she had started to feel something MORE than friendship towards the scythe-wielder.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Ruby." He said, and her shock grew even more. This man knew how to read people, and Blake felt herself start to think he was who he claimed to be. "Don't act so surprised. I've only been here 15 minutes, and I can see the way you look at her. So I'll let you tell the others in your own time, but know this: if you ever betray us, I will put you in the ground myself." He said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Ozpin wants to see me to finalize my class schedule." He finished, getting up and walking from the table, leaving Blake to digest everything he had told her. She was more than a little scared. After all, this person who had practically irradiated kindness had just told her that if she betrayed them he'd kill her. She quickly shook the thought that he really was the Emerald Knight out of her head. Tomorrow, she'd find out for sure, and the. She'd work on gaining his trust. With that, she got up and headed for the door.

**A/N: second chapter done! Cookies to all of you who got those Achievement Hunter references!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: New Relationships and the Challenge Commences**!

"-and here are your team dorms." Ozpin said. He had been taking Ed on a tour of the campus. They had gone to the gym, the class buildings, the Emerald Forest, and the rest of the campus, eventually finishing with the house Ed would call home for the next three-and-a-half years. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Oh yeah. One guy living in a house with four girls, one of which is his girlfriend he hasn't seen in two years. Oh yeah, I'm livin the dream." Ed said.

"Excellent. Now, if I may ask, what are your opinions on your new teammates?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, I think I'm a little biased when it comes to Weiss; Yang may seem like an average party-girl at first glance, but I can tell she's a formidable opponent; Blake's past makes me doubt her loyalties, and I have warned her what will happen if she double crosses us, but the others seem to trust her; and Ruby is young, inexperienced, and naive. But underneath it all lies an abundance of untapped potential. There is no doubt in my mind that she will make a great Huntress one day." Ed replied.

"And you plan on meeting Blake's challenge head on, right?"

"Of course. I never back down from a challenge." Ed said, looking forward to tomorrow. "Besides, I need to show everyone that I'm not just some trust-find brat who payed their way in here." He said. Since it had been issued, word of the challenge spread like wildfire from an unknown source (*cough cough* Yang *cough cough*)

"An admirable goal. I feel I should let you know, Blake is exceptionally skilled."

"Don't worry about it. I'm no slouch either." Ed replied. "Anyway, where do I store my gear?" He asked, and Ozpin lead him into the building.

Blake sat in class, unable to stop thinking about what Ed told her. He knew about her past with the White Fang and Adam, and he warned her that if she betrayed them, he'd kill her. It was natural that he not trust her knowing her past, and the possibility that he was the Emerald Knight was steadily increasing. But she had to stop thinking about it, and focus on preparing herself for tomorrow. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jeaune and Pyrrha glancing at each other and thinking neither one noticed. Honestly, the tension between those two was starting to get ridiculous. She wished they would just talk about it and get together, but she knew she shouldn't be talking. After all, she had been catching the glances a certain red-haired scythe wielder had been sending her way, and this meant one of two things: Ruby had figured out the sword/chain-scythe users feelings for her and was unsure how to act, or she felt the same way. She wanted to move on her feelings, but didn't want to ruin their friendship on the off chance she was wrong about how the younger girl felt. She then thought on Ed and Weiss: they had been friends since birth, yet Ed risked it all asking her out, and he said he hadn't regretted a thing since. Funny how she was getting advice from the person who threatened her life an hour ago. She had to come to a decision soon. She never knew when THEY might find her. The White Fang probably took her sudden departure none-too-kindly, and they were no doubt looking for her now. But what truly scared her was what would happen if HE found her. She had no idea what her leaving had done to Adam. He loved her like a sister, she loved him like a brother, and they had been all each other had for years. But that day on the train... Blake hadn't wanted to join the White Fang, but Adam had insisted it was for their own survival. She never liked the missions they went on, especially the ones where their leader specified that he didn't care if any humans survived. Adam showing no regard for the crewman on the train had been the last straw for her, so she left. She knew it hurt him, but she couldn't go along with what he had planned.

"Ms. Belladonna, is everything ok?" The teacher asked, shaking Blake out of her thoughts.

"Yes sir. Just thinking about some things, that's all." She responded. She turned her attention back to the class, but a small part of her mind went back to her previous thoughts. What if Adam found her? What if he hurt all her friends? What if he killed Ruby? She didn't know why, by that last thought scared her even more than what Ed told her at lunch. Ever since the silver-eyed colkie lover had come up with the plan to kill the Blood Raven, she had a respect for the young scythe wielder that eventually evolved into something more. When Ruby joined her in the library earlier, she had been overjoyed, and had tried working up the courage to talk about her feelings when Goodwitch called them to the docks. Hearing the bell ring, she got up and headed for her next class, seeing a familiar red cloak in the distance, and decided that she couldn't keep hiding her feelings. 'Now or never.' She thought, swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, she walking over to the figure. "Hey Ruby!" She yelled, catching her attention.

"Hey Blake. What's up?" She said, curious as to why her teammate was running up to her.

"Um, I was wondering if you'd like to, y'know...with me." Blake stumbled out, her tongue turning to putty in her mouth.

"What is it Blake?" Inwardly, Ruby was hoping that what she thought was happening was really happening.

Blake took a deep breath, and tried to form a coherent sentence. "I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me." She said, getting it all out in one breath. To say Ruby was shocked was an understatement. She had thought this through very much, but she didn't think that BLAKE of all people would make the first move.

" A-are you serious? Did you just asked what I think you said?" She asked, still in disbelief. Blake just smiled.

"Yes. I'm asking you if you would like to go on a date with me." She asked, and Ruby stood there for a moment, before wrapping Blake in a massive bear hug.

"I would love to!" She yelled, and let go of Blake. "But wait, when are we going to have it? Tonight doesn't leave enough time to plan, and you have the challenge against Ed tomorrow." She asked.

"The challenge is in the afternoon, so that'll leave me something to look forward to after." She said. "Well, I've got to get to my next class, see you later." She said, and both girls went their separate ways.

Jeaune had watched the whole scene. He wasn't a pervert who got off on two girls going out, mind you, but seeing Blake walk up to Ruby and just asking her out like that stirred something inside him. It was his gut, telling him to not let Pyrrha slip through his fingers. Team JNPR had a training period next, so now would be the perfect time to ask her. Heading over to the training area they had booked today, he saw that Nora and Ren had already partnered up, leaving Pyrrha alone to practice on a wooden practice dummy. Gulping as he saw her kick its head clean off, he walked over to her. "Um Pyrrha, can I talk to you for a moment, in private?" He asked, not believing what he was about to do. Pyrrha nodded and sheathed Miló and Akoúo̱, walking over to a private spot. "Listen, I think we need to talk about what happened before I left." He said, and the champion blushed, before getting an irritated look on her face.

"What is there to talk about? I poured my heart out and kissed you, and you just up and left without saying a word! We've been back a week, and you've barely spoken to me since!" She said, her voice steadily increasing. "You made your thoughts on the matter pretty clear! So tell me Jeaune Arc, what do we need to talk about!" She yelled, getting the attention of Ren and Nora. They'd both known that this was coming, but they didn't expect Pyrrha to blow up like this.

"What? No, Pyrrha, I didn't say anything because I'd never had a girl like me like that before, especially someone like you!" Jeaune said, and Pyrrha's jaw clenched.

"What do you mean 'like me?'" She asked.

"You know, perfect!" Jeaune said, and Pyrrha's eyes softened and her jaw dropped.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Well, I don't even know where to begin! You're smart, beautiful, funny, nice, talented, anything anyone could ever want in a girl! In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were crazy for even looking at someone like me!" He said, and moved towards Pyrrha. "Look Pyrrha, every muscle in my body is telling me to not let this chance slip through my fingers, so I wanna ask you: will you be my date to Blake's challenge tomorrow?" He asked, and he suddenly found it very hard to breathe. That tends to happen when someone presses their lips to yours. Jeaune eventually kissed back, and continued until Ren cleared his throat.

"Hate to interrupt your date, but I believe this is a TRAINING period. So we're going to get back to doing that now." He said, and he and Nora resumed their training match. Jeaune and Pyrrha smiled at each other.

"So,'I'm guessing that's a yes?" He asked, and she smiled and nodded.

"I'd love to watch the challenge with you." She said, and with that, the newly-made couple began sparring with each other.

**After School that day.**

Weiss walked into the teams dorm. Today had been an eventful day that much was for sure. If someone had told her when she woke up that she would be reunited with Ed today, she would have told them otherwise. She then heard the TV on in the kitchen, which was odd. Walking into the room, she saw Ed putting up groceries. "Hey Weiss. Noticed you guys were running low on supplies, so I ran into town and picked up a few things." He said, and quickly finished putting up the last of the groceries.

"When did you have time to do all this?" She asked.

"I don't start classes till tomorrow. I got bored, and the practice ranges are only for teams who have booked slots during the day." He said, and Weiss asked the question that had been bugging her since she saw him at the docks.

"So are you really him? The Emerald Knight?" She asked, curious to know. Since she had heard him called that, and she had looked up the name when she had the chance. What she had found were stories about how he had saved dozens of mines, but then she found something else: the Night of One Thousand Blades, a story of how the Emerald Knight fought off a horde of mercenaries single-handedly. If Ed was this person, then that would mean he changed a lot since that day two years ago.

"Yeah, and all the stories, though they might be exaggerated a little, are more or less true. I've made quite the reputation for myself, haven't I?" He said, and Weiss believed him. Ruby and Yang were both the adopted daughters of a legendary Hunter, and they were probably used to someone not living up to all the stories about him, so that may be why thy could accept him as the Emerald Knight. But Blake wasn't certain, and Weiss felt she couldn't blame her. That was a big claim Ed had made, and she even doubted him a little. But that wasn't what was bugging her.

"Um, Ed, I need to talk to you about something." She said, and Ed finished putting up groceries.

"Sure, what is it?" He said, and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I want to pick up where we left off." She said, nervous about his answer. The kiss at the docks had been made out of a mixture of the joy of seeing him again and the hope their relationship would pick back up, but now she was scared that he didn't feel the same way. Ed walked over to Weiss, and took her hands in his.

"Weiss, there is nothing I would want more than that. For 2 years, the only thing that got me out of bed every morning was the thought of seeing you again." He said, and he smiled at her, cupping her chin. He then kissed her, and he felt her tongue run along his lips, begging for entrance. He obliged, and their tongues battled for dominance. This continued for a few minutes, and they were so distracted by each other that they didn't hear the door open and Yang walk in.

"Aw man, that last class took forever! But at least it's over and- am I interrupting something?" She asked, and the two pulled apart blushing.

"N-no! We were just, um, you know, er." Ed tried explaining, but Yang just raised her hands.

"Don't worry about it. Can't tell you how many times Ruby's walked in on me making out with guys back home." She responded, and oddly enough Weiss wants surprised, and right after that the door opened, signaling that Blake and Ruby were home.

"-and that's why I think it would be better if we go out to a nice restaurant." Blake said.

"Well you'll probably be tired and sore after tomorrow, and I'll be fine if we just stay in and order takeout or something." Ruby said.

"But I want this to be special! I don't want to make it just another night at home." Blake said.

"But just being there with you will be special!" Ruby said.

"Um, is there something I missed, because I have no idea what's going on." Ed said, and this snapped Ruby and Blake out of their conversation.

"Oh, well, tomorrow, me and Blake have a...well, a date." Ruby said, and Yang enveloped Ruby in a bear big.

"I knew my baby sister had it in her!" She yelled.

"Yang... Can't breathe!" The silver-eyed girl said. Her sister set her down and ruffled her hair.

"Well, I'm happy for you guys. You two seem like a good match." Ed said, and Blake couldn't help but glance at him. He seemed completely different from when he talked to her at lunch, so that left a burning question in her mind: which demeanor was a front, and which one was the real Ed? Tonight would be an opportune time to learn about him, and Blake decided to make the most of it.

**6 hours later**

"-and then the guy asked her if she wanted to 'polish his sword' and said 'Bow Chika Bow Wow', and Weiss responded by kicking the poor bastard in the nuts!" Ed said, prompting laughter from the rest of the group, except Weiss who merely slapped him on the arm.

"It's not that funny! Besides, the guy thinks he can just waltz up to me and ask me that. Someone was bound to do it eventually." She responded. It had been like this all night: Ed would tell a funny story about Weiss, and she would tell one about Ed. However, she had run out of stories in her arsenal, and Ed had just exhausted his last tale.

"Oh, man. That guy sounds like a douche." Yang said. She was in the armchair, Blake and Ruby were curled up together on the couch, and Ed and Weiss were snuggled up in a love seat.

"Yeah, Tucker was a jerk and a pervert. Glad I don't have to deal with him anymore." Ed replied, and then yawned and checked his phone. "Aw man, is it that late already? Guess we should all hit the sack." He said.

"Here, let me show you to the guest room." Weiss said, and with that, Ruby up and bolted towards the room.

"Wait, don't go in there!" She said, barricading the door to the guest room. "It's um, it's messy in there! You should wait til we get a chance to clean up in there!" She said, and everyone quirked an eyebrow at her actions.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Ed said, and tried to get the door, but Ruby kept blocking the door. Picking her up by the hood and moving her out of the way, surprising everyone with how easily he picked her up, Ed opened the door and looked inside. "What the hell?"

The guest room looked more like an auto-shop: tools were scattered around the room, and where the bed should be there was a tool bench. Everyone looked at the obvious culprit, who had an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry, but I needed somewhere where I could work on Crescent Rose, and I couldn't get a good time at the Workshop, and we weren't using it, so I didn't see the harm in turning the guest room into a workshop." She said, and gulped when she saw Weiss get ready to tear her a new one, but thankfully she was saved by Ed.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just sleep on the couch." He said, and Yang got an evil idea in her mind.

"You sure? Because based on what I saw this afternoon, I'm sure Weiss wouldn't mind you sleeping in her room." She said, causing both of them to turn EXTREMELY red in the face.

"Y-Yang! What the hell is wrong with you!" Weiss shouted, and everyone else laughed, except for Yang's victims.

**The next morning**

"Ed, wake up." A voice called. "Ed, it's time to get up." It called again, to no avail. Weiss was getting irritated. She had been trying to wake up her boyfriend for 5 minutes, but he just sat there, sound asleep, snoring away, and she was starting to get agitated.

"He still not awake yet?" Ruby asked, and Weiss nodded. "Well I know just what to do!" She said, and got a glass out of the kitchen and filled it with cold water. "I use this trick on Yang all the time." She said, and promptly dumped the contents of the glass on Ed's face.

"Gah! What the hell that's ice cold!" He said, jumping up form the couch.

"Told you it would work." She said, and turned to Ed, who was glowering at her while dripping wet. "So what classes are you taking?" She asked, and Ed pulled his schedule off the coffee table and handed it to her and Weiss. "Sweet. You've got Weapons Theory with Blake and a few of our friends, Dust Usage with me and Weiss, Weapon and Equipment Maintenance 101 with Yang, and Advanced Combat Theory with Weiss and a good friend of ours." She said.

"Who is she?" He asked.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss answered, and Ed's eyes widened.

"You guys know the famous Pyrrha Nikos? As in the girl-on-the-cereal-box Pyrrha Nikos?" He asked, and they both nodded. "Wow, never thought I'd meet her. Well, let me dry off and get into my clothes and grab my gear, and I'll be ready to go." He said, and went to do just that. 15 minutes later, he was clad in his hoodie, vest, and gloves on, and was carrying a large silver box. Setting it down, he entered a few numbers into a keypad on it, and it made a *beep* and a click before it popped open, revealing Black King and White Queen, and the panels holding the guns parted and Arbiter lifted from the bottom of the case. Tucking the guns in their holsters and strapping Arbiter to his back. "Alright, now I'm ready to-what's with her?" He said, and Ruby had...were those sparkles in her eyes?

"Where did you get those?" She asked, and it took him a minute to figure out what she meant.

"Oh, you mean Black King and White Queen." He said, pulling out the weapons, and she went into what her three teammates had dubbed her 'Chibi Form".

"Those are custom made Jacobsen-Brand M195 Stingers! But they look new. Where did you get these? They haven't been produced for 30 years, and the only one I've seen is in a display case my Uncle Crow has in his office, and he won't let me touch it!" She said.

"That's a long story, and I'll tell you later." He promised, tucking his guns back into their holsters. "Where are the others?" He asked.

"Blake and Yang left early, and me and Ruby have first period together, and now your in there with us, and we figured we'd all walk together. Of course, that was before I remembered that all Hell breaking loose around you couldn't wake you up!" Weiss said, trying to pretend to be irritated, but the picture Yang had sent he of Ed practically making out with his pillow before she left was pretty damn funny.

"Besides, there's something you need to see." Ruby said, and Ed nearly sweat-dropped at the flyer she handed him.

"Blake Belladonna vs The Emerald Knight... Is someone actually charging admission to this thing? Cause in pretty sure these matches are free to watch." He said, and they group all walked out the door, Ed tossing the flyer in the trash. "I expected word to get out, but people actually made flyers? That's bordering in ridiculous. When did they find time to make these? I've only been here a day." He said, and Ruby shrugged.

"Someone obviously has a lot of free time on their hands." She said, and noted that Weiss wrapped her arm through Ed's. 'Wow, looking at them and you think they've never been apart.' She thought.

"Ruby, Weiss!" Nora's voice called, and soon the grenade-launcher/hammer wielder appeared next to the trio, Ren close behind her. "Did you hear that Blake's fighting some guy called the Emerald Knight? Of course you have, she is your teammate after all. Oh, and good news: Jeaune finally talked to Pyrrha, and I think they're dating now! Isn't that nice? They're watching the fight together, and do you know anything about this guy? I mean, I heard a few people in Mistral mention the name, but I don't know much about him." She said, and Ed's brain was currently in overdrive trying to understand her. "Hey, who's this guy? Why is Weiss holding onto his arm like that? I've never seen you before, are you new here?" She asked, and was about to continue talking Ed held his hands up.

"I'm Ed Gawain, nice to meet you." He said, and extended his hand, which Nora shook.

"I'm Nora, and thats Ren. You must be that new guy I heard about from Yang! But then must also mean that you're the Emerald Knight dude I heard about!" She said, and Ruby put her hands on the hyperactive girl.

"Ed, this is Nora Valkyrie, everyone's favorite, lovable bundle of ADD,and the only person I know crazy enough to ride an Ursa." She said.

"Oh, and who's idea was it to ride a Blood Raven?" Weiss asked, a scolding, yet playful tone to the voice.

"It worked didn't it?" Ruby said, and the group all walked towards the building their class was being held in. Unbeknownst to all of them, they were being watched. A bird that was really a surveillance device watched them, Ed in particular, sending video back to its master, a man with a white coat, ginger hair that covered his right eye, a bowler hat and a cigar between his teeth.

"So, THIS is the Emerald Knight that's been a pain in my ass the past two years? My operations been disrupted by a fucking teenager?!" Roman Torchwick yelled, slamming his fist into the table.

"Roman, you must be more level headed. We can't let our plan be ruined because you have a temper." A feminine voice said, and out of the shadows stepped a woman with long gray hair, yellow eyes, a red dress, and tattoos on her arms, her face obscured by shadows.

"Please Crimson, I know what's at stake. So can you do it?" He asked.

"You mean reawaken a Grimm that has hibernated ever since the beginning of the Dust War? Roman darling, you underestimate me. The spell should be ready by the time you specified." She said.

"Excellent. Now we can rid ourselves of that annoyance called Beacon, and our plans can continue unmolested." He said, lighting his cigar.

**Later that Day**

Ed sat in the locker room, cleaning the barrel of White Queen, and slid the chamber back on and started to repeat the process to Black King as Blake strapped Gambol Shroud to her back. "You haven't said a direct word to me since yesterday." He said.

"Well, what did you expect? You say you know about my past and threaten to kill me. What did you expect?" She asked.

"I didn't really mean it." He said, and she looked up shocked, wondering what he meant by that. "I don't like it-killing people. I don't enjoy it, never have never will." He said. "You might not believe me, but over the past two years, I've met a lot people. Some were nice, but others...they were trained killers and psychopaths, who fully lived up to their reputation. So when I found out that the Black Shadow was on a team with Weiss, I'm not gonna lie, it worried me." He said. "I was worried that what happened to my parents would happen to her." He stated, and slid the chamber back on Black King. "She's all I have left, and she means more to me than anything. So I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything to hurt her, and I admit, I may have overreacted. So I want to say sorry." He said, and turned and extended his hand to Blake. "How about we start over." He finished, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sure." She said, and shook his hand.

"Good." He said, and they started walking towards the dot, eventually stopping at a small platform. Thee platform rose, and soon they were standing in the Emerald Forest, Hovercam camera drones all over the forest.

"Students, we are all gathered to welcome our new student, Edward Gawain, to Beacon. Now, Edward has garnered a reputation as the Emerald Knight. Most have acknowledged this, but there has been one person who does not accept this: our very own Blake Belladonna. And thus, this challenge was issued." Ozpin's voice thundered throughout the school. Students had gathered around their TV's all throughout the school, eager to see the new kid take on one of their own, with Teams RWBY and JNPR watching from a location near the forest, ready to intervene if need be. "The challenge will be as follows: the two will start off in the Emerald Forest, and make their way through the forest to the castle. This is to prove to Blake that Edward is in fact who he says he is, and to serve as Edward's initiation. Now, begin!" He said, and the two sprinted into the forest, no one knowing of the hell that would break loose soon.

**A/N: Episode 8 is... WOW! I have no idea how I'm going to stack up to that, but I may have a few ideas. Muhahahaha! Cookies of you got the Easter egg in this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Baptism by Fire

Ed blocked the claw of a Beowolf and shot it in the head with Black King, before slashing off the head of an Ursa. An ogre knocked Arbiter out of his hand, and before he could draw White Queen, it slammed the ground where he was standing a minute ago. It threw another fist, and he caught it and broke it's arm before he drove his hand through the beast's heart. Blake turned the sword of Gambol Shroud into Kurasaigama mode, and threw through a row of Beowolves, reducing the demonic werewolves into mince meat, before catching the ribbon and spinning it around, slicing the head of a Basilisk in half. She almost didn't notice the Death Stalker bring its stinger down over her, and was about to dodge when Ed shot the stinger clean off so that it fell on the creatures head. "Thanks." She said, and he nodded.

"No problem." He said, and picked up Arbiter and took off into the forest, Blake close behind him. "So, how are my chances of telling the truth looking?"

"Well, given how you just shoved your hand through that ogres chest, the odds are in your favor." She responded.

The rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR were watching from the cliffs overlooking the Emerald forest, ready to jump in of need be. "Wow Weiss, Ed's got some mad skill." Jeaune said, watching in awe as Ed performed a 360 degree spin that decapitated 5 Beowolves.

"Yeah, I agree with Jeaune. It's rare to see someone that graceful with a sword." Pyrrha said, hanging off Jeaune's arm.

"Ed's always been a natural with a sword. When we first started sparring together, he would always beat me." Weiss responded. "He's probably gotten a lot better since I last saw him." She said, and watched as he shot an Ursa's head clean off.

"Blake's not doing too bad either." Ren said, and Ruby watched as her- girlfriend?- tackled an ogre and shot it with Gambol Shroud's pistol form.

"She'll be fine. Blake's a big girl, she can handle herself." Yang said, putting her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Besides, if anything overwhelms her, Ed will keep her safe."

"I know, but I'm still gonna worry." She said, and watched as the fight continued.

Back with Ed and Blake, Ed dug in his vest and pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and stuffing it in the mouth of a Basilisk, back flipping away as it exploded. Blake sliced a Beowolf's arm off with her sheath and stabbed an Ursa in the heart with her sword. Two Giant Armors, one wielding a sword and the other wielding a flail, charged out of the forest, and Ed looked at Blake. "You take the one with the flail, I've got the sword." He said, and she nodded, dodging a swing off the flail and wrapping her ribbon around the arm holding the flail and pulled, causing the living armor to lose its balance. She aimed for the armor's weak spot, a symbol made out of blood located on the interior of the armor, and stabbed it with the blade, the armor jerking before it dissolved. Ed's armor swung its sword downwards, and Ed blocked with Arbiter. It swung again, and was blocked once more. Ed sidestepped the next swing and stabbed the ground, creating a shockwave that sent the armor into the sky. Ed leaped up and sliced it in half, the two halves dissolving. "Well, that was easy." He said, and a Sasquatch came out, beating its chest and roaring.

"You just had to say something!" Blake said, and she flung her kursagama at the Sasquatch, only serving to agitate it.

"Distract it!" He yelled, and she did that, running in front of it and yelling at it. Unfortunately, it worked too well, and it started throwing trees and large rocks at her. It didn't notice Ed taking a deep breath, and placing both hands on his sword. He rushed it with blinding speed, and by the time it noticed him, blood spilled out of a wound on its chest, and it fell apart into a torso and legs before dissolving ash. Back at Beacon, Ozpin and Goodwitch watched as the two cut through the legions of Grimm.

"Edward is certainly quite worthy of his reputation." Ozpin said.

"Yes, he is. But Professor, I must ask you something." Goodwitch said, and he nodded to tell her to go ahead. "Team RWBY now has five members, the first team in 15 years to have this many members. Aren't you worried some of the students will accuse you of playing favoritism with Ms Rose?" She asked, and Ozpin chuckled, sipping his coffee.

"Let them. Team RWBY will not be the only team to have five members this year. I'm already looking at a possible candidate. This card showed up in my mail today." He said, and pulled out a card that had a raven holding a bow in one claw and three arrows in another, causing Goodwitch to gasp.

"The Raven..." She whispered, and he nodded.

"I have reason to believe that Edward may have been in contact with the Raven at one point." He said. "This will be a very interesting semester indeed."

Back with the spectators, Yang let out a whistle as Ed bifurcated the Sasquatch. "Wow, now that's fast." She said.

"What'd I miss?" Jeaune said, having gone to get snacks for the group. Pyrrha quickly filled him in. "Wow, they're making good time." He said, and it was true. The two had already cleared most of the forest, the end clear in sight, leaving a trail of dead Grimm behind them. They watched as a Cancer, a giant black crab with demonic pincers emerged from the ground.

"That... That could be a problem." Yang said, causing Weiss and Ruby to fear for their significant others.

Back with Ed and Blake, they watched as the Cancer arose from the ground. "This could be troublesome." He said.

"Don't be so dramatic." Blake said, and it didn't escape her that these were the words she said to Adam on the train. She was shaken from her thoughts when the giant crab sent a stream of water at where they were, forcing them to dodge. Ed drew White Queen and shot at the crab with both pistols, watching as the rounds bounced off the armor.

"Shit." He said, quickly running through his lessons in his head. 'Alright, Cancers can survive out of water for months at a time, and their high pressure water blasts are made from their bodies own water supply. Their shells are impenetrable, and the only way to beat one is...' He thought. "Blake! I'll flip it, you stick it!" He yelled, and it took her a second to understand his meaning as she remembered the Biology class on Cancers. She nodded, and he charged it, the Cancer shooting a stream of water that cut down a row of trees. He waited until the stream stopped, and threw a grenade filled with Wind Dust, the explosion sending the Cancer into the air, and it landed on its back. Blake ran up and ran the sharp edge of her sheath along the crabs belly, the weakest part of its armor. It shrieked before it died, dissolving into water.

"Alright, I take it you believe me now?" He said, and she nodded, out of breath from the past few hours respectively. "Awesome, now how about we hurry up and get to the castle. I'm pretty wiped." He said, pointing to the exit of the forest and she nodded in agreement.

In the warehouse in Vale, Roman Torchwick watched as the two finished off the Cancer and made their way to the castle. "Crimson, is the spell ready?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Of course. I'm just waiting for the most opportune moment. A show is a good reward for preparing this spell, don't you agree?" She said.

"There it is!" Blake yelled. The two then sprinted towards the finish, the two teams present cheering as they entered the premises.

"All right!" Nora said.

"Good job you guys!" Pyrrha stated.

"You guys are amazing!" Jeaune said.

"You guys were pretty good." Ren said.

"Blake!" Ruby said, tackling Blake to the ground with a hug.

"Way to go you guys!" Yang said, and Weiss walked over to Ed.

"Good job, Ed." She said, kissing him on the cheek, but he grabbed her waist and kissed her, earning wolf whistles from people who saw it on TV around campus.

In the warehouse, Crimson's evil grin was visible through the shadows. "Now we begin!" She said, and her tattoos glowed as she spoke in a language long forgotten by man. "Arise Ancient One! You, born of the darkness and the earth, all mighty one! Arise and tear down the ones who seek to destroy your kind! Arise and destroy all in your path! Arise and destroy the shining Beacon!" She said in the language.

"Well, that was certainly entertaining. Glynda, perhaps we... should…" he started, when he noticed that the ground was shaking. What he saw in the Emerald Forest caused him to drop his coffee, the glass shattering on the ground.

"I had a wonderful time Jeaune." Pyrrha said, leaning on his shoulder.

"Really? Because if you loved this, you'll love the date I have planned out soon. Movie, candlelit dinner, all finishing with a… does anyone else notice the shaking?" He said, and sure enough, a small earthquake was occurring.

"What the hell? I though Beacon was protected against stuff like that. This shouldn't be- oh God." Yangsaid, and in the Emerald forest, a massive stone figure, easily around 40 stories tall, a humanoid figure, markings all over its body, and glowing yellow eyes rose from the forest. "What the fuck is that thing!" She yelled, and the figure rose to its full height.

For the first time in decades, Ozpin was scared to his soul. "It's not possible. They were all destroyed hundreds of years ago!" He said.

"Ozpin… what is that thing?" Glynda asked, at a loss for words. In all her years as a huntress, she had never seen anything remotely like this!

"It's a Golem." He said, and she paled. Golems were massive creatures of Grimm, capable of destroying cities with ease. They all vanished at the end of the Dust War, and all that was left were the stories about them. But to see one here at Beacon, alive and standing...

It was like something out of a nightmare.

"A-a G-golem? H-how the hell d-do we fight s-something like that?" Pyrrha stuttered, clinging to Jeaune out of fear.

"Simple: we fight."

Everyone turned to look at Ed like he was crazy. "How the hell do we fight something like that! That thing is massive! Not to mention that you and Blake are both exhausted." Ruby said, and Ed looked at the thing.

"That things a Golem, meaning that while its really strong, it's also really slow. If we can disorient it, we'll be able to move in for a fatal blow." He said, and then slammed his fist into his hand, a burst of aura surrounding him as he did so. "You know what they say: the bigger they are the harder they fall!"

Cue song: Fragments by Jeff Williams

The Golem walked towards Beacon. "Hey, fatass!" A voice called, and it turned to see Ed standing there. "Yeah, that's right! Come here fat boy, or have you been on your ass so long you forgot how to move?" He said, and he dodged as it brought its fist where he had been a moment before. Pink explosions detonated around the massive Grimm's chest, and Nora flew by and smacked it in the face with Mjolnir's hammer mode. It staggered a little, and Weiss encased its leg in ice. Yang emerged from the forest and punched it's leg. It staggered and fell on one knee, and Jeaune channeled his Aura into his sword, sharpening and toughening it, and ran it along the leg Yang had punched, forming a large gash. Ruby then jumped out and sliced the leg clean off through the gash Jeaune made.

"Weiss, now!" Ed yelled, and she nodded, channeling water and lightening dust into the clouds above, and thunder sounded before rain poured down on the Golem, turning the clay that made up the massive monster into mud. The Golem stood back up and started limping towards the school with only one leg. Ed and Blake then appeared in front of it.

"Now what?" She asked.

"Simple: we trip 'em!" He yelled, and aimed his hand at the tree next to her. His hand launched to it, a steel rope connecting it to his arm, grabbing the tree next to her. She got the idea, and changed her blade into kursagama mode and threw it at the ground next to him. They both pulled their lines at the same time, and Ren came out of the forest and slashed it's legs with the blade of his Jade Dragons, and Pyrrha threw her shield captain America-style at the leg in just the right place as it trips on the make-shift trip wire, falling over it as its last leg crumbles away. However it continues to crawl towards the school.

"Great, it's still moving. Now what?" Jeaune said, and Ed slapped fresh clips into Black King and White Queen, Ruby put a new magazine in Crescent Rose, Yang switched to her long-range ammo, Blake's sword morphed into its gun form, Weiss drew a sigil in the air, Pyrrha switched her sword to gun mode, Nora changed Mjolnir back to grenade launche form, and Ren reloaded Jade Dragons.

"Pour it on!" Ed yelled, and bullets, compressed Dust, Ice blasts, and grenades alike all impacted the golem, ripping its soggy body apart. However, the head and arms still remained, and it weakly crawled towards them, anger present in its yellow eyes. "Oh will you just stay down already!" Ed yelled, and drew Arbiter and placed both hands on the sword. However, unlike against the Sasquatch, where he merely moved really fast, his aura, green in color, covered his body, his eyes glowed, and his sword crackled with green electricity. Getting into a running stance, he charged the Golem, the sword taking a second to break through the skin. With a mighty battle cry, he ripped right through the golem, and sheathed his sword, causing what remained fell into two pieces, along with several trees, and dissolved into mud.

"GODDAMMIT!" Torchwick yelled, punching the television screen. Furious, he turned to Crimson, who had a look of shock and... was that fear? "You told me the Golem would work!" He yelled.

"I-it should have! Even in the weakened state it was in after sleeping for 500 years, it should've still been able to destroy the Academy!" She said. "To face a Golem, a creature straight out of the textbooks at Beacon, head on and with out fear, and to also galvanize his comrades into helping him…just who is this child?" She said, and Roman didn't make much effort to hide his frustration, demolishing the room he was in.

The two teams all walked back into Beacon, and received a heroes' welcome.

"You guys rock!"

"You kicked that things ass!"

"You guys can't be first years, it's impossible with all that skill!"

"Good job Ed!"

"We love you Pyrrha!"

"Go Yang!"

Cheers like this sounded throughout the Main Hall, and Ozpin and Goodwitch came into view. "I must say, what you nine just did…that was nothing sort of a miracle." He said. "To take down a Golem, and show unwavering courage, you all are the very image of what we teach here at Beacon. Strength of mind like that comes only once every few years, and you all displayed it in spades. I am proud of how far all of you have come since you arrived at Beacon. Now why don't you go home and get some rest. I'm sure your exhausted." He said, and the two teams nodded, walking to their dorms, the cheers of the student body sounding behind them.

"Well, that was an interesting first day." Ed said.

"Man, if you would have told me we would be taking down a Golem this morning, I would have laughed and said otherwise." Jeaune said, and smiled when he felt Pyrrha slip her hand into his.

"So would I, but there's one thing that's been bothering me." Ren said, and everyone turned to him. "Well, we were all taught that Golems disappeared at the end of the Dust War, so why did one show up here? And of all times, why did it show up only when Blake and Ed made it to the finish line?" He said.

"Ren, you're just being paranoid." Ruby said, slipping her hand into Blake's.

"No, he's right. Something doesn't add up." Ed said, placing his hand on his chin in thought. "In my travels, I heard stories of how people discovered massive stone statues that date back 600 years. If they're true, then that means that Golems have been sleeping ever since they disappeared, meaning that that Golem must have been sleeping underneath what is now the Emerald Forest. But that also means that someone incredibly powerful must have woken it up." He said, and Ruby found herself thinking back to the Dust robbery where she fought Roman Torchwick, remembering his associate who fought Glynda. 'Nah, it couldn't be her. I doubt she's that strong…right?' She thought, and Blake looked at her, feeling her lover's distress.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, and Ruby shook her head.

"No, just thinking…if there really IS someone that strong, then they're way out of our league." She said, and Blake kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't worry, if anyone like that comes for us, I'll protect you." She said, and Ruby blushed way this, and seeing that face, Blake made a resolution.

'I have to tell her first. The challenge was probably posted online, meaning its only a matter of time before the White Fang sees it.' She thought. Little did she know, she wasn't the only one having similar thoughts.

'That videos probably been posted to WhoTube by now, so it won't be long before the White Fang is knocking down our door. I doubt we'll be able to fend off an angry terrorist group, but I can't make any preparations unless Blake tells the others.' He thought, and was pulled out of his thoughts when Weiss squeezed his hand.

"That was amazing, what you did Ed." She said. "I don't know what we would have done if you weren't there."

"Yeah, I mean, you had the courage to fight a Golem of all things. I've had nightmares off fighting those things, and you took it on like it was just a Beowolf!" Jeaune said.

"Doing what I do, being scared isn't part of the job. If I froze up every time I fought someone out of my league, I would've died a long time ago." Ed replied.

"Well, were gonna head back to our house and wash up. See you guys later." Pyrrha said, and Team JNPR went off to their home, leaving the remaining team members to walk back to their place.

"Well, I for one am exhausted. I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna crash on the couch and sleep for a few weeks." Ed said, as the house came into view. A small smile spread across all their faces, as they saw the new plate that displayed their team name.

It said Team RWBEY.


	5. Chapter 5: Revelations and the Raven

**Chapter 5: Revelations and The Raven**

It's been a month since the Golem attacked. The students no longer cheered for the teams like they were heroes, but try still received the occasional praise when they passed someone in the hall. Jeaune and Pyrrha were practically inseparable, and everyone had seen them making out all around the school at least once. Blake and Ruby's relationship has took off, and they had been officially dating for three weeks now. Blake wanted to tell Ruby about her past, but whenever she tried, something would come up. Tonight, Blake would let nothing stop her. However, unbeknownst to anyone else, she wasn't the only one having such thoughts.

'I need to tell them about what I am, but HOW? I trust them and all, even though me and Blake had a bit of a rough start, but if the information makes it into the wrong hands, then there's no telling who will be after us.' Ed thought, and gazed at Weiss, who had fallen asleep on the couch with him while they were watching TV after school. 'What if they come after her, either for being the Schnee Heiress or because she's close to me?' He thought, and heard Yang come in. "Hey Yang, how was class?" He said, careful not to wake up the sleeping girl on his arm.

"Boring as usual. Man, I want something exciting to happen soon." She said, and Weiss stirred awake.

"Isn't that what you said the day Ed showed up? And the next day we were attacked by a golem. So yeah, don't say that again. EVER." She said, and Yang shrugged.

"Whatever. Still wish something would happen." She said, and they heard what sounded like bumping coming from Blake's room. "Oh will those two keep it down for once! The last thing I need is an image of my baby sister making out with Blake." Yang said, causing Ed to chuckle. "Why are you laughing? It's not like we all haven't heard you and Weiss making out in her room." The golden-haired girl said, causing the legendary swordsman and ice maiden to blush. "Honestly your almost as bad as Blake and Ruby. God, when you two start sleeping together I have no idea how any of us are gonna sleep." She said, causing the two to blush crimson.

"W-what the hell Yang? W-we're nowhere near that stage in the relationship!" Ed protested, perhaps a bit too loudly, and Yang laughed.

"Well, you two have been dating what, 4 years? Even though 2 of those were spent apart, usually this is the part where two people start getting serious." Yang replied.

"Yeah, well, we're not like that, right Weiss? Weiss?" He said, and said girl was still stunned from what Yang said, though less from trying to process what she said, rather she was trying not to imagine her and Ed in more…intimate positions. And failed, terribly if the blood trickling from her nose was anything to go by. "Yoo-hoo, earth to Weiss. You in there?" Ed said, snapping his fingers in front of her. "Yang, I think you broke her." He said, and she kneeled beside him.

"Come on, she's fine…probably. Hey Weiss, you ok?" Yang asked, and Ed sighed and picked her up bridal style and carried her to her room, setting her down on the bed. They then heard more bumping coming from Blake's room. "I swear if they don't tone of down they're going to break something." Yang said, and something clicked in Ed's head.

"Wait a minute. Ruby and Blake aren't home yet!" He said, drew White Queen as he flung the door open, revealing a man with white armor going through Blake's belongings, and he promptly turn and ran and ran out the window.. "Dammit! Yang, get Ozpin while I run after this guy." Ed said said, and didn't wait for her response before he bolted after the intruder. The intruder was fast, and would have left ordinary people eating his dust, but then again, Ed wasn't exactly normal, quickly closing in on the running figure. "Get over here you bastard!" He yelled, and got close enough to tackle the man to the ground, knocking his helmet off to reveal a man with a feline-face and leopard spots all over his face. "Who are you, and why are you here?" Ed asked, pointing White Queen in the mans face. The man cackled in response.

"That traitorous bitch thought she could hide from us? Tell her we're coming for her, and you'd better be ready when we do!" He said, and it didn't take long for Ed to figure out who he was talking about. "That's right we're here for her! We…are…the lightning of justice!" The man said, before his body spasmed and his eyes rolled back into his head, his mouth foaming.

"Shit, cyanide pill." Ed whispered, and noticed that, while most of the student body had already gone to their dorms by now, a certain black-haired girl saw the whole thing.

"They're coming, aren't they?" Blake said, and he nodded. "Then I guess it's time for me to come clean." She said, and she almost didn't here Ed say something under his breath.

"You're not the only one." He said, leaving her wondering just what he mean by it.

**That night.**

Team RWBEY sat in the living room, everyone's attention on Blake. "I'm guessing you all heard about what happened earlier today. About how a man broke into my room, and then committed suicide when Ed caught him. Well, the reason he was here…" she said, and took a deep breath. "Is because he was looking for me."

"What? Why would he be here for you?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, why would anyone be looking for you?" Weiss questioned.

"Blake, stop talking crazy! That's insane…right?" Yang asked, and Blake looked at the floor, unwilling to look any of them in the eye.

"Because, he was apart of the White Fang. They're looking for me…because I betrayed them." She said. "I was born a half-Fauna, my only traits being my eyes and night-vision. But even half was too much for the village I was born in, and they chased me out as soon as my parents died. I was only six years old when that happened, and I was left to fend for my own. That's when I met Adam. He was only about five years older than me, and somehow we stuck together. Over time, he taught me most of the skills I know now, and eventually, we joined what is now the White Fang. I didn't want to join, but Adam said it was for our own survival, and I believed him. I hated every moment there. The constant talk that everything we did was to create a better world, the belief that whoever died was not strong enough to survive in the world, whether they were innocent of not. And the missions…to this day, they haunt me." She said, feeling her eyes mist up. "Our leader never cared if any humans lived or died. From committing raids on hospitals, stealing medicine, to stealing from the mines, to harassing the Schnee Dust company. I'm sorry Weiss, but those were the only missions I was comfortable doing. That way, I knew that what we were doing wasn't going to lead to someone getting killed. Until one day, we were assigned to attack a train owned by the Schnee Dust company. We were supposed to set charges that would cause the train and its shipment of Dust to derail. But Adam…he didn't care if the crewmen survived. That was the last straw for me…so I left. Professor Ozpin then found me and invited me to Beacon, and you all know the story after that." She finished, not looking up, not wanting to see the hate filled looks her teammates were sure to be giving her. She then stood up, still looking at the ground. "I'm leaving Beacon. That way, if they come after me, you guys won't be hurt, and they'll leave this place alone." She said, and made for the door when Ruby hugged her from behind.

"Blake, please don't go." She said,tears staining Blake's clothes. "We don't care what you did in the past, all we care about is the person standing in front of us here and now!" She said, and Blake turned to look at the others. Instead of rage-filled hatred, she found warm kindness and acceptance, and the other two girls joined the hug, with Ed putting a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"If the White Fang is coming for you, we will stand here and fight for you!" Weiss said, and Ed nodded in agreement.

"If they want you, they'll have to climb over our cold, lifeless bodies first." He said.

"Yeah, what they said, and if anyone lays a hand on you, they'll draw back a stump." Yang said, and Blake felt tears stream down her face.

"Thank you everyone." She said, and Ruby said 'you're welcome' by giving Blake a kiss. At that moment, Ed decided it was his turn to let the cat out of the bag.

"Blake's not the only one who's been hiding something from you guys." He said, and walked over to the kitchen and came back with a large knife. "Now, before I do this, I need to be absolutely sure I can trust all of you." He said.

"Of course. Why do you even need to ask that?" Weiss said.

"Because if this information gets into the hands of the wrong people, then every terrorist, mob family, and would-be world conqueror in the world would be after us." He said. "Now you have to promise me that you won't freak out." He said, and seeing them all nod, he proceeded to cut his wrist wide open, the cut deep enough to see bone! They all got up to help him, but he held up his hand, and all their jaws dropped as the edges of the gash glowed green and started to close up and heal, and before long there want even a scar! They were all about to ask what the fuck they just saw, when he answered for them. "Nanites. Microscopic machines, impossible to he seen by the human eye. Before he died, my father was working on a way to make miners safer by using these little guys." He said. "Yang, one month ago, you said you wanted to know why I disappeared for two years. Well, your about to get your answer." He said, forcing his kind to recall the painful events of that day. "Two years ago, I went with my mother to go visit my father at his lab. That day, Roman Torchwick attacked, hoping to deal a blow to the Schnee Family. My mother was shot dead, and I-" he paused, trying to force back the pain he felt that day as the flames devoured his body, and his right arm was destroyed. "-I was badly burned in a fire, though somehow I was still alive. My father locked us in his lab, but not before one of Torchwick's goons got a lucky shot in. The night before, he had finally managed to perfect one batch of nanites, so right before he died, he injected me with the only batch." He finished. "The next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital, Weiss's father telling me what happened. After the funeral, I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. Hell, I don't know if I can now." He said. "It shouldn't have been me who survived that fire. I should have-"

"Edward Gawain, don't you even finish that sentence!" Weiss yelled, standing up from where she was sitting. "If you keep blaming yourself because someone saved you instead of them self, then your insulting your father's memory!" She said, and Ed knew where he had heard those words: it was what he said to her after her mother died in the car accident, using her body to cover her daughter's. "So you do remember who said those words, Edward? Does that mean you realize how hypocritical it is for you to beat yourself up over that?" She yelled, and Ed tried to break eye contact, but she wouldn't let him. "When you left after the funeral, did you even think to consider my feelings? How would you feel if the one person you love more than anything just up and left?" She finished, and he clenched his fist.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think about you, I just wanted to go away and wallow in my own guilt and self pity." He said, then realized what she just said. "So do you really mean it?" He said, and Weiss figured it out as well, a light blush decorating her cheeks.

"Yeah, I guess I do. I think I always have, deep down. Only took you disappearing for two years for me to figure it out." She said, and took his hands in her. "Listen, Ed, if you were feeling guilty about coming out alive, then you should have talked to me about it." She said, and a small smile headed his lips.

"In hindsight, that would have been better than hitting the road." He said, and pulled her close. "I love you too." He said, kissing her head, and Yang of course had to ruin the moment.

"DAWWWWW!" She exclaimed, and everyone glare day her. "Sorry, couldn't help it." She said. Ed's face then turned serious.

"We need to figure out what we're going to do about the White Fang." He said, then snapped his fingers. "I know just the person to call.

**Vale**

A lone figure, wearing black armor, a quiver full of arrows on his back and two quivers strapped on his hips, and wearing a full head mask shaped like a raven with red eyes, stood atop a skyscraper, overlooking the busy city of Vale. He pulled out a feather, with dried blood on it. "Father…if you could see me now, what would you say? Would you be proud of me for continuing our order, or disappointed in me for all the mistakes I have made?" He said in a deep, filtered voice, before disappearing, leaving raven feathers in his place.

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?" A in a maroon uniform said, and his goldish-yellow wearing partner turned to him.

"What, do you mean metaphysically, or do you mean why are we here specifically?" The other guard said.

"What do you think dumbass? The boss showed up, looking like he had just seen a ghost, saying don't let anything bother him while he did some last minute 'paperwork'." The first guard said.

"Hey ladies, keep it down, before I shoot you with my shotgun!" Their pure-red leader said, brandishing the shotgun he loved so much.

"Oh shove it out your ass Sarge!" The gold one said, and a pink one spoke up.

"Man, if the boss doesn't hurry up and finish, I won't be able to get my beauty sleep! And then I'll get-hurk!" He started, when an arrow impacted him in the shoulder, the pain knocking him unconscious.

"Hey Grif, did you hear something?" The Maroon-one asked, and The gold one, now identified as Grif, gulped.

"No, Simmons, I didn't hear what sounded like Donut getting knocked out." Grif said, and Simmons suck his head in frustration.

"I got a degree in Computer and Software design for this? Man, fuck my life." He said, and went to go check where Donut was. "Hey Donut! Get the fuck down here! I swear to god if your giving yourself a manicure again I'm-what the fuck?" Simmons said, as he came across Donut's unconscious form. "Fuck. Grif, sound the alarm and-blargh!" Simmons started, before an arrow with a boxing glove off all things on it hit him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Hey Grif, you hear something?" Sarge asked, and the two guards were then hit by two arrows that delivered an electrical shock to them.

In the room they were guarding, a bank accountant frantically crammed papers down a shredder, two security guards, one large and exceptionally muscular and the other of average build, yet his posture showed he knew how to easily kill a man. "Washington, Maine, in case those idiots out there fuck up, make sure no one gets through!" The accountant yelled, and the smaller one nodded.

"On it boss." He said, and he and his partner pulled out two SMG's. "York, how's everything looking out there?" He asked into a radio, and his partner patrolling the outside responded.

"Everything looks quiet so far. North hasn't reported in yet, so I'm waiting for-" York started, but all of a sudden he was replaced by static.

"York? York? Dammit, the idiot must have forgotten to charge his radio again." Washington said, and Maine growled in agreement. At that moment, an arrow flew into the room, nailing Maine in the shoulder. He staggered and clutched his shoulder in pain, and the figure from the skyscraper action-rolled into the room, sweeping Maine's legs out from under him and knocking him out with several quick jabs to the head. Washington fired his SMG, and the figure took cover behind a pilar, waiting for a gap in the firing, indicating that Washington ran out of Ammo, and shot Washington in the chest with an arrow. He then drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it and aimed at the accountant.

"Don't move." He said.

**'**_Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, One day we'll cruise down Blood Gulch Avenue. It's red vs red, and blue vs blue**-**__'_

The figure realized that the song was coming from his phone. "Sorry." He said, and activated the headset in his mask. "Who is this?" He asked.

"Am I interrupting something?" Came the voice of Edward Gawain.

"Nah, just wrapping up a job. It's about-" th figure started, but stopped when he noticed the accountant reaching underneath the desk for a gun he kept in the drawers. An arrow flew, and the mans hand was pinned to the wall with an arrow. "-99.9% complete. All that's left is to put the fear of God into him."

"Alright, call me back when you're done." Ed said, hanging up the phone, and turned to the man.

"I didn't do anything!" The accountant said.

"Really? Cause all the money that mysteriously disappeared from your clients bank accounts and into yours says differently." the figure said, and got close enough that the man's breathe fogged up the lens of the mask. "Now, I'd better see all that money put back in their accounts, or more or-" and the figure's fingers sharpened, and he slashed them across the mans shirt. "More of THAT will happen. We clear?" And the man nodded, a warmness spreading down his pants. "Good." The figure said, disappearing and leaving raven feathers where he was standing only a moment ago.

The figure reappeared on a nearby rooftop, and pulled off his mask, revealing an 18-year old with raven-hair and black eyes. Pulling out his phone, he hit 'call back.' It didn't ring long before Ed picked up. "So, what do you need?" He said.

"Well, I'm at Beacon now, and one of my teammates is being hunted by the White Fang. I found one of their scouts in our dorm, and it won't be too long before they show up here. So, I was wondering if you'd like to help us." Ed said. "Come on Al, it'll be just like that time we fought off all those mercenaries. Except, this time, I have reason to believe that the Red Death may be coming."

Al thought for a moment. The Red Death was a feared swordsman, leaving behind a trail of bloody corpses. Facing him practically meant you were looking Death straight in the face. "Alright, I'm in. This was my last job anyway. This whole 'take from the corrupt and give to the pure' is nice and all, but lately it's been…boring." He said. "I think it's time I got out of the mercenary biz. I already sent Ozpin my card, so he's expecting me. I should be there tomorrow afternoon at the latest." He said, and hung up the phone, staring at the moon. 'Father, forgive me, but our order is long overdue for a rest.' He thought.

**Some underground bunker outside Vale**.

A man in a black jacket with red accents and a white mask ran his red ninjato across a grind stone, sharpening it. They'd gotten word that the scout they deployed to Beacon had activated his pill, meaning he had been discovered by the target. He'd seen the video of her on WhoTube, and he had to admit, despite the anger he felt towards her, he felt proud as she used a move he taught her to take down a Giant Armor. But it was quickly replaced with anger as he saw her working with the Schnee Heiress and her lapdog, the very thing they worked to take down! Then again, Blake had never liked the White Fang, in fact she expressed multiple times that she hated it there. But they needed someone who could give them food and shelter, and if a few people had to die in exchange, then so be it. Now, Adam lied in wait. Tomorrow, they would attack Beacon, planning to capture Blake and kill any who got in their way. "Adam, I know she's your student, but she left us, and joined up with those Schnee bastards, spitting in everything we stand for!" Came the vice of the Leader of the White Fang, a man identified only as 'Lionheart'.

"Don't worry. As far as I'm concerned, this is just another assassination." Adam said, and his blade glowed red, as if anticipating the blood it would taste soon.

**A/N: if you did not get the Easter egg this chapter, we need to have a few words. Also, I'm not doing the dorms from the show or the school uniforms. You'll see more of my layout in later chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6: Defending Blake: Ed vs Adam

Chapter 6: Defending Beacon: Ed vs Adam: the Emerald Knight vs the Red Death!

It was a quiet night at Beacon, and the White Fang was counting on that. They'd have launch an attack on the front gates of Beacon, and while the staff and faculty were busy protecting the gates, Adam would sneak in and kill Blake. A perfect plan, if Beacon didn't have an ace in the hole, who had arrived at Beacon in secret. "Al, can you see them?" Ed said, speaking into a headset. Al had arrived at Beacon that afternoon, hiding in the mail shipment, years of training paying off.

"Yeah, I can. No sight on the Red Death yet. You sure you and your teammates can handle this?" Al asked, sticking to the shadows of a tree. Ed smirked.

"Oh yeah. These guys are peons, and we need you to keep an eye out for the big fish." Ed said. Him and the other members of Team RWBEY were the front lines against the White Fang, and Team JNPR would guard over Blake, who had been moved to a secure location in the Emerald Forest. They had been let in on the news of the White Fang coming, seeing as the Part-Fauna they were protecting trusted each and every one of them. Al was serving as the 'eye in the sky', offering data on their movements.

"Are you sure you can handle the Red Death? If even half the stories are true, there's a high probability one of you will die here tonight." Al said, then noticed a change in movement. "Hold on, one person just broke off and disappeared. They must be a stealth specialist."

"Alright, take down as many infiltrators as you can. If you see the Red Death, leave him to me." Ed said, and Al grunted his agreement, before he dodged a slash from something that left a claw mark.

"You should know, my mask has both night AND thermal vision. I knew you were their the whole time." He said, and the air shimmered before changing into a man with chameleon eyes and long, curved claws.

"So, the Raven is here at Beacon? Why does someone of your ancestry protect traitorous filth such as her?" He said, and Al threw one of the arrows on his hip. The chameleon dodged and Al's hands became talons.

"Because, it is the duty of the powerful to protect those who cannot defend themselves, an ideal my order has embraced since our creation. I'm the last one, so it's only natural I continue to uphold that." Al said, and charged the figure. He slashed with his claws, but the Chameleon dodged, an turned invisible. "Damn." Al swore, and switched his mask's lens to infrared. "You can run, but you can't hide, you bastard."

Ed, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby waited at the entrance of the Emerald Forest. "So, your friend's a famous mercenary?" Yang said, and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, but not in the traditional sense. He only takes jobs where the targets are corrupt men, people who steal from those of a lower social class or less fortunate living situations." He responded, and ten smirked. "He's got skill, and we've worked together a bunch of times, he just stayed out of the spotlight." He said, and Weiss remembered what Ed said the first day he arrived at Beacon, when Blake asked him about the Night of a Thousand Blades

'I had a partner. My partner at the time prefers to say in the shadows, so he let me take all the credit.'

"Is he the guy you fought off all those mercenaries with?" Weiss asked, and Ed nodded, remembering that night fondly.

"Yeah. This should be a piece of cake compared to then." He said, and then heard footsteps coming though the forest. "Their coming." He said, and drew Black King and White Queen. Yang activated Ember Cecilia, Weiss drew Myrtenaster, as Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose. Sure enough, a platoon of 40 men became visible.

"Long live the White Fang!" They yelled, and the Team took cover as they all opened fire on them. Ed popped out and squeezed of a few shots, before he was forced to take cover as a bullet nailed him in the shoulder. The pain soon reversed as his body spat out the bullet, the wound healing.

"Get close to them!" He yelled as he heard their firing stop, and Yang nodded, charging them with her usual cocky smirk. The men's guns turned into daggers, and Yang dodged the slash of one and punched him into a tree, and ducked under another and punched her assailant in the chest, knocking him unconscious. However, he had grabbed part of Yang's hair, and when Ruby and Weiss saw the golden strands in the unconscious man's grip, they ran in the opposite direction just as Yang noticed. She let out a cry of anger as her hair practically glowed, her eyes turned red, and her fiery aura surrounded her. The men switched their daggers to guns and fired at her, the bullets either burning or bouncing off the yellow-haired girls aura, and Ed watched with his jaw dropping all the way to the other side of the world as he watched her tear through the ranks.

Back with Al, he saw a massive heat flare through his lenses, and zoomed in to see Yang demolishing the ranks of the White Fang. 'Remind me never to get on her bad side if I stay here.' He thought as he dodged a swipe from Chameleon's claws. "Listen, as fun as this little game of cat and mouse is, I'm going to have to end it." He said, and pulled out a compound bow from his belt and drew an arrow, firing it into the sky. It detonated in a massive explosion of light, and the shadow of chameleon was visible. With blinding speed, Al drew fired off an arrow, and it hit Chameleon square in the heart, and his body turned visible.

"Fool…me and the others are only a distraction…the traitor will soon be dead." He said, before let loose a dying cough, and Al's eyes widened.

"Fuck! Ed, whoever your fighting, their only a distraction!" He yelled into his earpiece, and Ed swore under his breath.

"Dammit. Weiss you and Ruby-" he started, then realized that Ruby was gone. It didn't take Ed long to figure out that she took off when Yang's hair was pulled, and easily guessed her destination. "Shit!" He yelled, and ran at a speed of 85 mph, far surpassing his speed he used to chase the cheetah-man, to where Blake was, hoping he got there before Adam would, leaving behind Weiss, Yang, and a platoon of broken, unconscious men.

On the other side of the forest, Adam silently moved through the forest. 'Blake, you'll pay for betraying me.' He thought, and came to the place Blake was being guarded, assessing the situation.

Ren patrolled the perimeter, while Pyrrha, Nora, and Jeaune protected Blake. "Uh, Blake? What do you think out chances are against this Adam guy?" Jeaune asked, and Blake thought on her answer.

"Do you want me to be nice or do you want me to tell the truth?" She asked.

"Truth." Jeaune said.

"He'll destroy you all without hesitation or mercy." She said, and Jeaune audibly gulped, and Pyrrha placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Jeaune. I doubt he'll make it this far. Ed and his friend will make sure of that." She said, and Jeaune was about to respond, when a voice cut through the darkness.

"Don't be so sure about that." Adam said, and Blake felt her blood run cold. "Hello Blake. It's been awhile." He said, appearing out of thin air, and Blake felt her heart stop.

"Get him!" Nora said.

"No, run!" Blake yelled, but team JNPR yelled, and Ren launched a series of blows at Adam. The Fauna dodged every one and grabbed Ren's arm, twisting it until it broke, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Ren!" Nora yelled, and swung at Adam with her hammer, he dodged and launched his sword out of his scabbard, the hilt knocking the orange-haired girl unconscious. Against his better judgement, Jeaune flung himself at Adam, and was swiftly knocked out with a karate chop to the side of his head.

"Jeaune!" Pyrrha yelled, and switched Miló to gun mode and fired a few rounds at Adam, who swiftly dodged, and picked up his sword from where it was lying near Nora's unconscious body, and swiftly charged Pyrrha, plunging the sword between her ribcage, narrowly missing a lung.

"Adam enough!" Blake yelled, and drew Gambol Shroud. She had been too paralyzed with fear by Adam appearing, but seeing Pyrrha get stabbed galvanized her. "Let then live, and fight me!" She yelled, and Adam chuckled.

"Really Blake? Throwing your life away for these humans? Wasn't it humans who drove you out of your home, treated you like dirt, and spat on you for years, all because you had cat eyes?" He said, and Blake steeled yourself.

"They're my friends Adam. I'll throw away my life to protect them, just like you used to for me!" She said, and was about to attack, when a voice called out, one that made her heart stop.

"Get away from her!" Ruby yelled, stepping from the darkness, unfolding Crescent Rose. "If you're gonna fight anyone, fight me!" She yelled.

"No…Ruby get out of here! He'll kill you!" Blake yelled, and Ruby smiled at her.

"It'll be worth it, if I can protect the person I hold most dear. Blake, I love you." Ruby said, and charged at Adam.

"Pathetic." Adam said, and ducked as Ruby swung her scythe at him, and swept her legs out from under her, and grabbed he by her throat as she started to fall, and threw her at the ground, and Ruby felt her neck break. "Love, compassion…such emotions have no place on the battlefield." He said, and raised his sword, and swung it down, right at Ruby's neck.

"NO!" Blake yelled, and turned away, not wanting to see her lover be killed right in front of her.

_CLANG!_

Wait, that wasn't the sound of steel slicing through flesh. That sounded more like two swords colliding! Blake slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw filled her heart with relief.

Adam was about to being his sword down on the red-haired scythe wielder, when his sword met another that was very similar to his own, with the main difference being that the other sword was green. Following the new blade, he found himself staring into green eyes that burned with the fires of rage. "So, you're the Emerald Knight?" He said; and Ed nodded.

"Pleasure to finally meet the Red Death. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to stop you from killing any of my friends." He said, and the two swordsman jumped back. Ed turned to Blake. "Blake, Al, Yang and Weiss should be her soon. Take care of the others until they get here." He said, and she nodded, hurrying over to collect Ruby and move her out of the way, and the two swordsmen faced off. One, a harbinger of death wherever he went, the other a knight, a champion of the people. On this night, the Red Death and the Emerald Knight would meet in a fight for the ages.

Ed drew his his guns and fired at Adam, who dodged. Adam switched Bush to gun mode and fired back. Ed ducked under the bullets and drew his sword and charged, Adam drawing Wilt and doing the same. The two swords met in a flurry of sparks. Whenever Adam would strike Ed would block, and vice versa. Ed punched Adam, causing him to become disoriented, and followed up with a flurry of punches to Adam's chest, and finished with an upper cut that knocked Adam onto his back. "You know, your not as tough as I've heard." Ed said, and Adam smirked.

"And your as skilled as they say." Adam said, and took off for the cliffs, Ed in hot pursuit. Ed launched his hand at Adam, who dodged, but Ed then retracted his arm, slapping Adam in the face, causing him to stagger, but he quickly recovered. Arriving at the cliffs, Adam stopped running and turned to Ed.

"I should tell you something about the stories." Adam said, drawing Wilt. "They've under-exaggerated my skills." He said, and was on Ed with a flurry of slashes, forcing Ed to go on the defensive.

'Damn, what changed with this guy? His blows weren't nearly this fast before!' He though, and tossed a flash bang into the air. As Ed was about to go in for the winning blow, he saw…were Adam's clothes glowing red? Adam sheathed his sword, then unsheathed it with unreal speed, and Ed tried swinging downward, but his arm wouldn't move. It was at that moment he noticed his right arm falling off the cliff, Arbiter near the edge, sparks coming from his arm socket. Adam then stabbed Ed in the gut, causing him to cough up blood, and yanked it out and stabbed him in the pancreas, before sheathing it again, the glow fading from his clothes. "I'll give you this: your every bit as good as they say. It's been years since a human made me use that technique, and I applaud you for that. However, this is the end." He said, and rose his blade for the kill, when an arrow whizzed past Adam's head. Al barreled out of the forest and slashed with his talons, forcing Adam to dodge. He drew his compact bow and loaded three arrows into it, launching them all at Adam. The red-haired Fauna dodged one and caught the other two with his hands, flinging them back at the black-armored assassin, who dodged and charged Adam. An impressive flurry of hand-to-hand combat followed, with every punch being countered with a kick and ending with Al swinging his bow at Adam. Adam caught it and snapped the weapon in two, and Al used this to stab Adam with one of the arrows in his hip quiver, causing Adam to clutch his shoulder and back away, pressing a button on his sleeve. "This isn't over." He said, and fell jumped off the cliff. Al wondered why he would do that, when an airship rose up, Adam glaring through the closing door, and it took off.

"Fuck." Al said.

'Dammit, he got away.' Ed thought, his vision darkening from lack of blood, and he tried getting up, only for him to cough up more blood.

"Ed!" He heard Weiss yell, and suddenly she was beside him. "Ed, get up! Ed…et up…ease…don't leave me." She said, and that was the last thing Ed saw before he blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7: Recovery

Chapter Seven: Recovery

"Quick, get the BRD ready for Lie Ren!"

"Get Valkyrie's nose fixed up pronto!"

"Ruby Rose's neck is too broken for the BRD, get a cast ready!"

"He missed Nikos' lung by three inches, we need to stabilize her fast!"

"Quick, get Gawain to emergency surgery now! We need to patch him, then the nanites will do the rest!"

It was like this in Beacon's infirmary. It was a state of the art medical facility, equipped with certified doctors and staff. Sitting in the waiting room, tears streaming down his face, was Jeaune Arc. "Dammit…dammit all!" He yelled, angry at himself. Nora had a broken nose, Ren's arm was snapped, and Pyrrha…Jeaune hated himself right now. She was badly hurt, trying to avenge his worthless ass, and now he didn't know whether or not she would survive. "I don't deserve her, I don't deserve her at all." He mumbled, and clenched his hand into a fist. His team was hurt, and he, the leader, had been powerless to help them. "Why am I the leader, why do they have faith in me!" He yelled, and sobbed well into the morning.

"Mr. Arc?" A nurse said. "Your teammates have been stabilized, and Ms. Nikos is asking for you." She said.

"Alright." He said, and followed her into the room they had given Pyrrha and the others, and Jeaune felt his heart tear as he saw the bandage on her abdomen. She smiled when she saw him.

"Jeaune." She said, her mind still a little foggy from the painkillers. "I'm so glad your ok." She said, and Jeaune felt incredibly guilty, seeing her there, hooked up to an IV.

"Pyrrha, this is my fault your here. If I hadn't charged that guy, then you wouldn't have attacked him, and you wouldn't have gotten hurt." He said, and she grabbed his hand.

"Jeaune, it isn't your fault. Even if you hadn't attacked him, he still would have hurt me." She said, and he shook off her hand.

"And I wouldn't have been able to protect you then either! Pyrrha, ever since I've met you, I've done nothing but drag you down! If you stay with me, I'll just take you down with me." He said, and Pyrrha's mind was clear enough for her to realize what he was about to say.

"Jeaune, don't say that. Don't say what I know your about to say!" She said, and Jeaune turned towards the door.

"I'm sorry Pyrrha, but it's over. One day, you'll thank me." He said, and Pyrrha tried going after him, but her side flared in pain, and she fell on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

"Jeaune…don't…" she groaned out, and sobbed as a nurse came and helped her back into bed.

Jeaune walked back into his empty dorm, and looked at the ground. On the floor underneath him, Weiss was probably pouring her eyes out about Ed, and Blake was most likely blaming herself for what happened to everyone. "I don't know what the hell you just did, but it had better not be something you'll regret." A voice said, and Jeaune looked up to see Al still in his armor but without the mask, the two having met the afternoon before all hell broke loose.

"It's none of your business. I did what I had to." Jeaune replied, and went to his room. Al watched him, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into.

Ren woke up to Nora standing over him, a bandage on her nose. "Ren, you're awake!" She said, wrapping him up in a bone-crushing hug. "I saw Pyrrha, but she won't talk to me. I think Jeaune said something, we should go talk some sense into him!" She said, her voice a bit nasally.

"Nora, I just woke up, and I'm hopped up on painkillers. Just give me a minute." He said, and saw Ruby asleep and in a neck-brace, Blake asleep in the chair next to her, holding her hand. "How long has Blake been here?" He asked.

"Since Ruby got her cast." Nora replied, and Ren saw Ed, hooked up to all sorts of life support machines, Weiss asleep on a cot next to him.

"And those two?"

"Ed was pretty badly hurt. I think they're letting his nano-things heal him." Nora replied. Ed had explained his nanites to them, and while Ren didn't understand a word of it, he knew Ed would be fine in a few days.

"Where's Pyrrha?" He asked, and Nora gestured towards a closed curtain, and Ren could see Pyrrha's outline and hear faint sobbing coming from behind it.

"Mr. Ren, you're awake. That's good." A doctor said, and handed Ren a paper. "We healed your arm using a Bone Reparation Device, so you're good to go. Just sign this form and you'll be free to go." The doctor said, and Ren filled it out.

"What about Pyrrha?" He asked.

"Well, we were going to give her a prescription of Healing Dust and send her on her way after rehab, but after Mr. Arc visited her, it'll be a best if she stays here for a few days." The doctor responded. Ren would have to find out what Jeaune said. 'He must blame himself for Pyrrha getting hurt and broken up with her.' Ren thought, and stood up. However, his legs were weak from misuse, and he tripped, knocking over Nora, and he caught her. They stayed there for a few minutes, before Nora spoke up.

"Um, you okay?" She asked, a light pink decorating her cheeks.

"Yeah, I am now." He said, and Ren found himself getting lost in her blue eyes. Their lips drew closer, when the doctor cleared his throat.

"Yes, I hate to be rude, but this isn't a soap opera, so can you please do that elsewhere." The doctor said, and Ren nodded, his cheeks pink, and led Nora out.

"Um, sorry about that. I don't know what-" Nora started, but stopped when Ren pressed his lips to hers.

"NOW, we're together together." He said, a small smile on his lips, and Nora smiled back.

"I'm good with that." She said, and they walked back to their dorm, hand in hand.

**The Next Day.**

Pyrrha woke up, her eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying. She couldn't believe that Jeaune did that. She knew he didn't really think that he was dragging her down, but he blamed himself for not being able to protect her. "Pyrrha, are you okay?" Weiss asked. Yang had took Blake and Ruby home, bringing Weiss some fresh clothes. The Schnee Heiress was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Ozpin told her that she could stay with Ed until he woke up, and her teammates would bring her her classwork.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Pyrrha responded.

"Pyrrha, don't lie to me. Jeaune did something stupid didn't he?" Weiss asked.

"He…he blames himself for me being hurt. He said he would keep dragging me down, then told me it was over." She said, her eyes tearing up from the memory. Shaking it out of her head, she changed the subject. "So how's Ed?" She asked, and Weiss looked at her boyfriend. He looked lifeless, life-support machines hooked up to him, the steady beep of the heartbeat monitor being the only indicator that he was alive.

"The doctors say that the nanites inside him are fixing his body from the inside, and that he should be fine in a few days , but…" she said, moving her fingers across his cheek. "It still breaks my heart to see him like this." She finished, a lone tear falling down her face. She then turned to Pyrrha. "Come on, lets go get something to eat." She said.

"Jeaune, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Yang yelled. Nora and Ren had gotten her, Blake, and Ruby to come with them to talk to Jeaune, and Al had tagged along because he was bored, and Jeaune told them about how he broke up with Pyrrha. "You had better say something that makes sense fast." She said, and Jeaune configure to stare at the floor.

"I'm just going to bring her down. She'll be better off without-" he started, but Yang grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.

"I said that makes sense!" She yelled. "Pyrrha is the best thing that's happened to you, and you're just going to dump her because you were hurt before her? What the fuck is wrong with you!" She yelled, and Al had to admit, even though he barely knew any of these people, what Jeaune did was just plain stupid.

"I agree with Yang. Did Adam do any brain damage, or did you hit your head harder than the doctors thought?" Ruby said.

"It's my fault Pyrrha was hurt! If I was stronger, I could have-" Jeaune started, but Blake cut him off.

"Could have what? Adam put Ed in a coma and put Ruby in a neck cast, so what could you have done if you were stronger? f anyone is going to blame themselves, then that right belongs to me and me alone!" She yelled.

"Listen, you may think your doing this to help Pyrrha, but you doing that may have hurt her more than anything." Ren said. "I know you genuinely care for Pyrrha. Did you even consider her feelings when you did what you did?" He said, and Jeaune looked away. Al had had enough of his bullshit.

"Listen, I won't pretend to know any of you, or how you do things here, but if there's one thing I know, it's that blaming yourself for not beating someone stronger than you is a terrible mistake. I'm speaking from experience here." He said, and turned away. "Do what your heart tells you, nothing more, nothing less." He said, and everyone left, leaving Jeaune standing there contemplating their words.

Weiss peeled an orange as she worked on class work, and stole a glance at Ed. He looked so peaceful, aside from the metal socket on his right shoulder. "Ed, I love you. Please wake up soon." She said, and turned back to her work, ignorant to Ed's left hand twitching and a small smile forming on his face.

**One Week Later**

Pyrrha was in the infirmary's rehab clinic, running a steady page on a treadmill. "Ms. Nikos, you have a visitor." Pyrrha's nurse said. Pyrrha nodded, turning off the treadmill, and the nurse stepped aside to reveal Jeaune, causing Pyrrha do look away.

"What do you want, Jeaune? Here to break my heart even more?" She said, and although she tried to fill them with contempt, she didn't mean it. She couldn't be mad at him, she knew he was just mad at himself.

"Look, Pyrrha, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean any of it. I just- I'd never felt more useless in my entire life." He said. "You and the others put up a fight, and I didn't even make him dodge! And when I found out you'd been hurt because you charged into save me, I just- I just felt like the worst boyfriend in the world." He said, then looked Pyrrha in the eyes, taking her hands. "But then everyone came and managed to beat some sense into me, and I saw where I went wrong. So Pyrrha, can you please forgive me?" He asked, and Pyrrha couldn't help but do that.

"Of course, Jeaune." She said, kissing him, happiness filling her for the first time in a week.

Blake arrived back at the dorm, and saw Ruby watching TV. "Your home early. I thought you'd be in the Workshop." She said, and Ruby shrugged the best she could through the neck brace.

"Our lesson today was a combat exercise, so the teacher said I could come home early and make it up when I'm out of this thing." The scythe wielder responded, and her part-fauna girlfriend sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"I'm sorry about your neck." Blake said. "It's my fault it was broken."

"No, it's my own damn fault. If I hadn't gone in half-cocked I might not be in this mess." Ruby said, and grabbed Blake's hand. "You know, I really meant what I said before I fought Adam. I really do love you." She said, and Blake squeezed the hand.

"I know. And I want you to know that even thigh we've only been together for a month, I think I love you too. I didn't realize it until I saw Adam throw you down." The part-fauna responded, and kissed Ruby on the cheek. At the last second, Ruby shifted her body, and their lips touched, soon becoming a full-blown make-out session.

'Where am I?' Edward Gawain thought. He was in a pure white space, and he saw his right arm. 'Who's arm is this? Is this mine? No, this doesn't seem rich somehow. Wait a minute, who am I?'

'Ed, I love you.' A female voice called out.

'Who's Ed? Is that my name? Yeah, that sounds right. Ed…and that's Weiss. Weiss? Why does that name sound so important? It feels important, but I can't remember why." He thought, and soon saw two 14-year old children, one a boy with green hair and green eyes, the other a girl with white hair and blue eyes.

'Weiss, I got you a present! I know your birthday was last week, but you were out of town, so I waited til today." The boy said, and handed the girl a small box. She opened it and pulled out a necklace of a white snowflake.

'Ed, it's beautiful!' She said, and Ed scratched his head in confusion.

'Did she just call him Ed? But that's my name isn't it?' Ed said. 'Wait, that necklace…I remember! I got it for her for her fourteenth birthday, but she was on a trip on her birthday, so I gave it to her after!' He said, and looked at his right arm. 'But this can't be my right arm: it doesn't feel right.' He said, and then an image of three people, one large and extraordinarily muscular and with a goatee, another a teenage girl with long black hair, and the other a far less muscular version of the first man.

'Alright Ed, your all set! Make sure if you come back its not just for maintenance, and call first!' The girl said.

'Be safe Edward!' The guy with the muscles said, and the old man nodded in agreement. Ed felt his right arm burn, then looked to see a gleaming arm made out of steel.

'Thats right, THIS is my arm!' He said, and balled his hand into a fist, the rest of his memories and fighting Adam coming back to him. 'And that also means I got my ass handed to me. Guess my bodies all done healing up. Time to get up Ed.' He thought.

Ed awoke to find all sorts of life support monitors hooked up to him, and he ranked the diodes connecting them to him, and looked at his right arm socket. "This is the second time I've woken up like this." He said, and heard someone waking up next to him. He looked over the edge of the bed and saw Weiss waking up. "Looks like I'm not the only one waking up right now." He said, a small smile on his face.

Weiss slowly awoke, and was about to go back to sleep, when she heard the steady beep of Ed's heart monitor replaced by a long, continuous beep. 'Oh no!' She thought, and bolted up, a panicked expression on her face until she saw Ed smiling at her. "Ed…your awake." She said, unable to keep tears of joy from falling down her face. "You're awake…you're awake!" She said, embracing him. "I was so worried. I-I didn't know if you were dead, or if you would ever wake up. Don't ever do that again." She said, tears staining the hospital robe he was wearing. Ed wrapped his arm around her.

"Don't cry Weiss. I'm alright now." He said, and she pulled up to kiss him, before she nuzzled into his neck.

"You had me so worried! You scared me half to death!" She said.

"It's OK Weiss. I'm awake now. You don't need to worry anymore." He said, and at that moment, Pyrrha walked in, having just finished her final rehab session.

"Ed, you're awake! That's wonderful." She said.

"Hey Pyrrha. How's everything going?" He asked.

"Well, me and Jeaune went through a bit of a rough patch because he blamed himself for me getting hurt, but we're fine now." She responded.

"That's good. How are the others?"

"They set Ren's arm back in place and used a BRD on him, Nora has a broken nose that should heal pretty quickly on its own, Ruby's neck was broken, and they're using a BRD on her this evening." Weiss said.

"What about Blake? Did Adam get to her?" He asked.

"She's fine. But she feels guilty that we all got hurt, but other than that she's alright." Pyrrha said.

"And Al?"

"Right here." Al said, and Ed turned to see Al sitting on the windowsill wearing a black hoodie and a 'What Happened to Georgia?' T-shirt. "Honestly, between the blonde boy blaming himself for getting hurt, that orange-haired chic talking like a hamster on coffee, and mr. Too-cool-for-words, it's amazing you haven't gone crazy already Pyrrha. I don't know how I'm going to survive the next three-and-a-half years." He said.

"Does this means you've decided to stay at Beacon?" Ed asked, and Al nodded.

"I've been assigned to Team JNPR, meaning that when you get out of here, we'll be neighbors." He responded. "Ozpin's finished the paperwork, and I start classes in two days. Of course, seeing as my bow was broken, I'm going to need a new one."

"Maybe you can design your own weapon this time. That thing was a hand-me down from your great-great grandfather, wasn't it?" Ed said, and Al scratched his head. He did have a few ideas for improving his bow, and he needed more close-combat options.

"Yeah, I've already got a few ideas." He said. "Well, I gotta go. I just came to see if you were awake. Adios amigo." He said, and disappeared in a flurry of raven feathers.

"To this day, I don't know how he does that. It's kinda annoying actually." Ed said. Weiss sat up from her spot on Ed's chest, straightening her clothes.

"Well, now that you've woken up, you've got some schoolwork to catch up on." She said, and gestured to a spot on her right. Ed gulped when he saw the massive stacks of paper.

"Oh boy." He said.

**One Hour later**

Ed had done as much schoolwork as he could, but even though he was ambidextrous, his handwriting with his left hand was pretty crappy. Luckily, one if the nurses came in and gave him a temporary prosthetic until he could get his arm repaired.

"There you go Mr. Gawain. This should work for you." She said. "Let me know if you have any problems." And then she left.

"Alright, this should make things easier. Now, where were we?" He said, and got back to work. Working well into the evening, he had just finished the last of his schoolwork. "Oh thank god it's over." He said, and Weiss looked up from her book she was reading.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad. I did all my work while you were asleep." She said.

"Yeah, and that was what, a week? I don't know how, but my right wrist is actually SORE! Is it even possible for a prosthetic to be sore?" He said, and at that moment, his stomach growled. "Guess it's time for a break." He said, and made to get up. Unfortunately, his legs hadn't been used in a week, so when he tried using them, they fell out right from under him. Weiss tried to catch him, but he was heavier than she thought, and they both tumbled to the floor, landing in a rather awkward position, with Weiss on top of Ed straddling his hips, and the two blushed when they realized the position they were in. Of course, at that moment, mainly because I get a kick out of doing stuff like this, Yang walked into the room.

"Hey Ed, I heard you were awake and-" she started, but stopped when she noticed the position the Schnee Heiress and the swordsman were in, and got a grin on her face. "Should I come back later?" She asked, and the two bolted onto their feet. Well, Weiss bolted up, Ed slowly stood as his legs got used to being used again. Anyways, the two sat up, their faces now as red as Ruby's cloak.

"N-no. He tripped, and I tried catching him, but he was heavier than I thought and-um-we fell." Weiss said.

"Riiiight." Yang said, then remembered why she was there. "Anyways, Ed, it's good your awake. It's been boring and-"

"Don't even finish that sentence. Whenever you say you want something exciting to happen, all hell breaks loose within 24 hours." Weiss said, cutting off her teammate.

"Come on, when has that ever-" Yang started, but Weiss cut her off yet again.

"You said that the day Ed arrived, and the next day a golem attacked. You said that the day that guy was in Blake's room, and the next day a guy showed up and put most of our friends in the hospital. So don't say that again. EVER!" She said, and Yang saw she had a point.

"Ok, I get it. Hey Ed, is Al single?" She asked, and Ed quirked an eyebrow at this.

"Wait, are you telling me that Yang Xiao Long, party girl and huntress in training, is interested in Allen Poe, a world famous mercenary who knows how to kill a man with a battery?" He said, and Yang blushed slightly.

"N-no, it's just, um, I was planning to hook him up with someone. Yeah, that's right!" She said, and Ed still wasn't convinced, smirking at her discomfort. It was time for payback for all the times she made fun of him and Weiss!

"Come on, admit it! You're interested in bird boy aren't you? You two gonna make a nest together and have little blonde babies?" Ed taunted, and Weiss tried suppressing a giggle at seeing Yang's face then redder than a tomato.

"N-no!" The poor blonde said, and Ed cackled with laughter.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. Last time I spoke with him, which was about a month ago, he wasn't seeing anyone, besides, he doesn't really stay in one place long enough to get a girlfriend. I think Beacon's the only place he's stayed at for over a week." Ed responded, and at that moment, a woozy came voice came from the hallway.

"Yaaaang, where'd you go? I need my big sis to take me and my girly friend home." Slurred out the voice of Ruby, and she soon appeared at the doorway. "Oh, Eddie's awake. Hi Eddie, hi Weissy." She said, and staggered into the room, and Blake soon appeared.

"This is ridiculous." She said.

"Um, dare I ask what's wrong with her?" Ed said.

"Well, we came here because Ruby's neck had healed enough for them to use a BRD on her." Blake said, and stopped her girlfriend from trying to eat the soap in the bathroom. "They had to give her anesthesia because whenever they put the BRD on her she freaked out." She said.

"Now you know what I had to deal with whenever we went to the dentist when we were kids." Yang said, and she and Blake out Ruby's arms around their shoulders. "Come on sis, it's time to go home. See ya when they let you out of here Ed!" She said, and the three girls disappeared around the corner, Ruby saying 'wheee!' as they did so.

"Well, that was…odd." Ed said, and Weiss nodded in agreement. "So, uh sorry about, well, you know…what happened when Yang walked in." He said, and Weiss's cheeks turned pink.

"D-don't worry about it. It was an accident." She said, yet the strange thing was, she didn't mind being in that position with Ed.

"You sure? I mean, I don't want to push you into anything if you're not ready." He said. "I mean, we don't have to do anything like THAT until you're ready."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. We'll get there when we're both ready." She said, and took his hand in hers. "Come on, lets get something to eat."

On the other side of Beacon, Al walked into a building with a sign that said 'Uncle Jeb's Weapons and Armor'. he had come here right after he talked to Ed, and gave the owner the designs for his weapon. He closed the door behind and waited at the front desk. "Just a minute!" A voice called from within the workshop. A few moments later, a man wearing a smock and a wielding mask came out, and he flipped it up to reveal a dark-skinned man. "Ah, Mr. Poe! Welcome back to Uncle Jeb's! I'll have your order out in a minute." He said, and went back to the workshop and returned a moment later with a two foot long sword. "I present you with: Nevermore!" He said. "I designed it exactly to your specifications, all you need to do is sync it with your quiver and the Raven will fly again!" He said, and handed Al the sword. He swung it a few times, then pressed a button on the hilt, causing it to expand into a bow.

"Alright, seems good so far." He said, drawing the string to test it's strength. "How much do I owe you?"

"That'll be 100 Lien." Jeb said, and Al nodded and collapsed Nevermore into its sword form, pulling a wallet out of his pocket.

"What about my friends arm?" He asked, pulling out the bills necessary.

"Yes well, even though it was mostly intact, the thing was so weakened from falling off the cliff that it broke apart when I tried fixing it. I'm afraid Mr. Gawain will have to go to the designer to have it fixed, as it was made with an alloy I'm not familiar with." Jeb responded.

"I see. I'll be sure to tell him that." Al said, and picked up Nevermore and walked out the building, quickly making his way to the dorms he would now be sharing with Team JNPR and Team RWBEY. Walking up the stairs to where his new team lived, he saw Nora and Ren making out on the couch. "Again? Honestly, if you two are gonna do that, do it in your room." He said, and walked past the blushing couple to go into his room, and he heard bumping coming from Jeaune's room. Pyrrha he gotten out of the hospital today, and so her and Jeaune were up to God knows what. "How I'm going to get any sleep around here I have no idea." Al said as he opened the door to his room. Unlike the guest room downstairs, this one was relatively work bench free, and he had his armor laid out in the bed. He walked over to it, his fingers brushing the crest of a raven holding a bow in one claw and three arrows in the other, that was located on the breastplate of the suit. "Father, I'm sorry, but I guess I'm not going to be the one who would continue our order." He said, and tucked the armor away into a chest, before he jumped out the window onto the roof, looking at the moon.

"Come on Blake-y, why won't you do it?" A still delirious Ruby said.

"Because, I don't want to dress up like a cat and and use Professor Porker's office as a litter box." The part-Fauna said. The doctors said that the anesthesia would wear off in a few hours, and they couldn't go by fast enough. They had just turned the corner to their dorm house, and Yang was still preoccupied by what Ed said. Did she really like Al? She had just met him, but they got along great so far. She knew that wasn't the basis of a good relationship, but the raven-haired boy made her feel warm inside, and her heart fluttered whenever he was near. Why did she feel this way? She never did around other boys she had gone out with, yet with Al, a boy she had met only the previous week, she felt her stomach do somersaults. Maybe she's ask him out when she knew him better.

"Hey Yang, look! It's your crush!" Ruby said, and she pointed to the roof.

"Ruby hush!" Yang said, and looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was Al, sitting on the roof.

"Yang and Al sitting in a treed K-I-S-S-." Ruby started, before Yang clamped her hand over Ruby's mouth.

"Come on, Yang. Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" Blake asked, and Yang glared at her.

"I just met the guy! What do you want me to say 'hey I know we just met and all, but do you wanna go out with me!' That'd make me look like some hooker!" Yang said in a hushed tone, and she prayed Al hadn't heard any of that.

Al heard the whole thing, and chuckled. He had gotten to know the two teams, and he had to admit, when he met Yang, he felt…something. He didn't know what, but it felt like his heartbeat increased, his palms grew sweaty, and he felt incredibly nervous around her. Was this what it felt like to have a crush? He had female friends, but he had never looked at them in a romantic light. But Yang was…different. She didn't take any crap from anyone, never let anything bring her down, and always protected her friends. He had never met anyone like her before, and he didn't know if she felt the same way. Well, at least until just now, anyway. "Hey Al." A voice behind him said, and he turned to see the very subject of his spots, her yellow hair blowing in the wind, the moonlight bouncing off her lilac eyes.

"Hey Yang. Is Ruby gonna be ok? She seemed kinda out of it." He said, and she tensed up. "I mean, why else would she ask Blake to dress up like a cat?" He said, and Yang relaxed, thinking he hadn't heard the latter half of the conversation.

"She'll be find by morning. So, whatcha doin'?" She asked.

"Y'know, just thinking."

"Mind if I ask what about?" She said, and Al gestured to the spot next to him, and she sat down there.

"I'm just wondering what my dad would say of he could see now. You see, I'm the last member of an ancient order, the Guild of Ravens. We've been around since the beginning of the four Kingdoms, but we've died out since then. My father, he believed that we had to do our best to preserve our order, and so he trained me, ever since I was old enough. Even though he could be one hell of a drill sergeant, he was a good guy. He always knew when to stop physical training and switch to mental, and vice versa. I loved the old bastard, he was the only family I had after my mother died. I was all set to take over his position, when one day-" he started, when he realized everything he had just said. He didn't mean to tell his whole life story, but something made him spill it all out. Was it Yang that made him tell all of this, was it that he simply needed to tell all of this to someone, or was it both? Either way, he was about to stop when Yang put her hand on top of his.

"It's ok. You don't have to say anything else if you don't want to." She said. It struck her how weird this was. She never stopped digging for information, yet here she was, telling someone they didn't have to tell her anything.

"No, it's fine. I need to tell someone this." He said, then took a deep breath. "One day three years ago, I went down to the village near where we lived to get supplies. When I came back, the cabin we lived in was on fire. I went to search for my father, and found him bleeding out in his armor in the woods nearby. He told me he was sorry he wouldn't live to see me become the man I was destined to be, and gave me this armor he had custom made for me, buried by where he was bleeding." Al said. "He died right after I dug it up. To this day I don't know who killed him. Since then, I've carried out his wishes for our order to go on, even if it was just me. A year and a half ago, I met Ed, and now here I am, telling my life story to a girl I've only known for a week." He finished, and Yang was dumbstruck. Why did he tell her? Did he feel the same way? She supposed she had better say something.

"I'm sorry you lost your father like that, not even knowing who did it." She said, coming up with words the best she could.

"Y'know, I don't even know if he would be proud of me for coming to Beacon. Whenever I asked him, he said that he would be proud of me no matter what I did." Al said, and he turned his head to look at Yang.

"I'm sure he would be proud of you. From what I've heard you've done a lot of good." She said, and raven-eyes stared into lilac ones, the space between the two decreasing until their lips met. Neither knew why they did this, and frankly neither of them cared. All that mattered was then and there, the kiss continuing until oxygen became required, and they parted to rest their foreheads against each other.

"Frankly, after what just happened, I don't care what he thinks right now." He said, and from the afterlife, what looked like an older version of Al with grey hair watched from above, a smile on his face.

"Son, you've already made me proud." He said, and watched as the two went back to their respective floors. "Now, it is time for the Guild to rest, and for you to be your own man." He said, and disappeared into the ethereal void.

**A/N: to those who are going to complain I rushed the Yang/Al, don't even bother. I never planned on dragging that out. Don't forget to review, and constructive criticism is the only type of criticism welcome.**


	8. Chapter 8: the Third Legend

Chapter 8: The Third Legend

**A/N: Edward Gawain. Allen Poe. I now give you my third and final OC protagonist for the season: Damian Cross. All you Trigun fans out there will be able to see where I drew the inspiration for his weapon.**

It had been one week since Ed had woken up, and he had left about three days ago to get his arm repaired. The school day had just ended, and Al was walking through the prestigious halls of Beacon Academy with Yang, taking everything in. "Wow, this place is pretty nice. Why have I not come here before?" He asked, and Yang was about do say something, when voices came from around the corner.

"Go back to the zoo freak!"

"You don't belong here you weirdo!" The voices said, and Al and Yang looked to see four boys beating up on a girl with rabbit ears.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Al said, and the leader, who Al recognized as Cardin Winchester from the team rosters, turned to him.

"Or what, tough guy?" Cardin asked, and Al's fingers sharpened into talons.

"Or you'll find out just how easily these slice through a man's flesh." He said, and Cardin sneered.

"Oh, you're one of those freaks too?" He said, stepping up to Al.

"Yeah, got a problem with that Armored Asshat?" Al said.

"Yeah, I do." Cardin said, and looked at Yang. "You're with this freak now? Personally, I think you and me would look great together."

"Fuck off Cardin. Besides, I like my men to be a bit more, I don't know, masculine. I'm not into guys who beat up on people smaller than them." Yang said, and Cardin sneered and grabbed her shoulder. She slapped it away, and Al was ready to slice Cardin's throat open, when Yang noticed that a few strands of her blonde hair was gripped in Cardin's hand. Her fiery aura surrounded her, her normally lilac eyes turned red, and her hair glowed. She punched Cardin into the wall, and glared at Russell, Sky, and Dove. "You pricks want some?!" She yelled, sending the remainder of CRDL running for their mothers. "That's right. Run bitches run!" She yelled, and quickly returned to normal. "Velvet, are you ok?" She asked, helping the girl with rabbit ears off the ground.

"I'm fine. They were just a little rougher than usual." Velvet said, brushing some dirt off of her skirt.

"Where's your team?" Al asked, retracting his talons.

"Her team treats her like garbage. Well. Yang said.

"Well, not all of them treat me like trash." Velvet said.

"You mean Damian?" Yang asked, and Velvet nodded, a slight pink decorating her cheeks.

"Y-yeah." She said.

"Damian? As in Damian Cross?" Al asked.

"Someone say my- Vel, are you ok?" A voice said, and the three turned to see a 17-year old with dark hair in a blue suit and a large cross wrapped in bandages on his back.

"Yeah, I'm ok Damian." The rabbit-eared girl said, and that's when Damian noticed Al.

"Oh, Al. I'd heard that you were here, but I had to see it to believe it."

"Yeah. So, how long you been here?" Al asked, the two meeting in an embrace.

"Since the beginning of the year. You?"

"Ed called me on for some help keeping out some…unwanted visitors."

"So the three of us are all back together, huh?"

"Looks like it. Just like old times."

Yang and Velvet watched the exchange between the two. "Um, how do you guys know each other?" Velvet asked.

"Hmph? Oh, me, Al, and Ed are old friends." Damian said.

"Ed too? What, are you guys like the Three Musketeers?" Yang asked, getting a chuckle from Al.

"More like three clueless idiots who somehow ended up working together." He said, and Damian returned his attention to Velvet.

"Vel, did Winchester hurt you?" He asked, and Al had to keep from bursting out laughing at the look on Damian's face. The damn fool looked like a lovesick puppy!

"I'm fine. Yang and Al came and stopped him, then the idiot made the mistake of pulling Yang's hair." Velvet said, gesturing to Cardin, who was mumbling something about headlight fluid and how people liked grapes.

"Should we do anything about him?" Al asked.

"Nah. He'll be fine." Yang said, before Al turned to Velvet.

"So, how'd you two meet?" He asked, and she scratched her head.

"Let's see..."

Six months ago, the Emerald Forest.

Velvet looked around nervously, checking her weapons, two revolvers whose chambers were modified to shoot different kinds of dust. She hoped she landed someone nice, but with her luck she'd probably get saddled up with Cardin Winchester. She thought she had gotten away from him when she went to Beacon, but that hope vanished when she ran into him on the ship. Hearing the sound of snapping twigs, she turned and aimed her guns at whoever it was, thinking it was a Grimm, only to be greeted by a teenager in a blue suit, a massive cross on his back, holding his hands up. "Easy, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, and extended his hand. "Damian Cross. I guess I'm your partner for the next four years." He said, and she eyed him before lowering her weapon.

"You don't care that I'm a fauna?" She asked, and Damian raised his eyebrows before noticing her ears.

"Oh, didn't notice. Don't worry, one of my best friends is a Faunus. Though technically he's a half Faunus." Damian said.

"Y-you really don't care that I'm a fullbreed?" She asked, and Damian was about to open his mouth, when he threw her on the ground. She was worried that he had lied, that he was just like the others, when he slammed his cross on the ground.

"Get behind me." He said , and as soon as he said that, a Sasquatch came from the woods. Damian undid the strap on the crosses right arm, and it extended, depositing two Desert Eagles. Damian started firing at the Grimm, and it charged him. Damian emptied the clips, but it still didn't go down, knocking him into a tree. It turned its attention to Velvet, who dodged its punch, when Damian ran under its legs and grabbed his cross in the hole in the middle, the straps on the leg coming undone, the leg parting to reveal a massive machine gun. Damian pulled the trigger, machine gun fire rendering the Grimm into a bullet-riddled pulp before it dissolved into ash. "Sorry about that. Like I was about to say, I don't care about your ears. In fact, they're kinda cute." He said, earning a blush out of Velvet. No one had ever called her ears cute before, except for her parents.

"Uh. I-I'm Velvet. Velvet Scarletina." She said. Whoever this boy was, she was glad to have him by her side.

End Flashback.

"What about the other two teammates?" Al asked, and the look on Damian's face was one of disgust.

"Those assholes. They don't care whether or not she lives." He said. "They've done everything she can to make sure she doesn't come back alive. Sabotaging her weapons, abandoning her on the battlefield, not to mention all the teasing and ridicule they give her." The disdain was present in his voice. Yang grabbed Velvet's arm.

"Well, I'll let you guys catch up. C'mon Velvet, let's go get a bite to eat." She said, and they promptly left the two alone.

"So, you and Velvet together?" Al asked, and Damian blushed.

"N-no. We're just good friends." He said.

"Oh please. You look like Ed does whenever he would talk about Weiss." Al said. "Don't even try saying you don't feel anything for her. I know you too well."

"I'd be lying if I said you were wrong." Damian said, taking out a toothpick and placing it in his mouth. "I'm just not that experienced with women, that's all. What about you and Yang? When did that happen?" He asked.

"'Bout a week ago. We talked on a rooftop, we kissed, now we're together I guess. I'm kinda just wingin' it." Al responded. "C'mon, let's go see how they're doing." He said, leading his friend to the cafeteria.

Weiss exited Professor Oobleck's classroom, her last class of the day. While the professor's personality and hyperactivity usually made sure class wasn't too boring, Weiss couldn't help but be occupied by other thoughts, namely those surrounding a certain green-haired swordsman. Ed had left a few days ago to get his arm fixed, and had texted her right before classes that he would be back by tomorrow. She spied Cardin Winchester being pried out of a wall, and was about to ask why he was there when she noticed a few golden strands of hair clutched in his hand. 'Damn fool. When's he gonna learn to stop hitting on Yang?' She thought, as she made her way to the dorm. She set her book down, when two hands covered her eyes. She was about to gore whoever it was with Myrtenaster, when her assailant spoke up.

"Hey beautiful." Ed said, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Ed? I thought you weren't supposed to be back til tomorrow." Weiss said, turning around to look him in the face, unable to hide her joy at seeing him.

"We finished ahead of schedule. Thought I'd surprise you." He said, showing off his new arm. "Got home about 15 minutes ago. Did I miss anything big?"

"It's been pretty dull the past few days. I think Yang just neat Cardin into a wall." Weiss replied.

"Hah! Nice." Ed said, and no sooner than he said that to door opened, and in walked the blonde they had just mentioned.

"Hey Al! Ed's back!" Yang yelled up the stairs to Team JNPER's floor, and soon the archer appeared.

"Welcome back. How're the Jacobsen's?" Al asked.

"They're good. Gave me hell about my arm though. Are wrenches supposed to hurt that much?" Ed replied.

"Why didn't you tell me Damian was here? I didn't even know until I ran into him about half an hour ago." Al said.

"I was kinda busy, y'know, being comatose and all." Ed said.

"Still, you could have told me." Al said.

"Wait, you both know Damian Cross?" Weiss asked.

"Turns out their like the Three Musketeers." Yang said.

"I will pay you not to call us that again." Al said, and she smirked and kissed him.

"We'll work something out." Yang said.

"Could you two flirt somewhere else? I could use a nap, and I'd rather do it away from that." Ed said, and Ruby and Blake walked in at that moment.

"Ed! You're back!" Ruby said, giving the swordsman a quick hug. "It's been so boring without you here!"

"Well, with the gang all together again, I'm sure something exciting will happen soon." Blake said.

Junior Malachite was the head of the Malachite Crime Family, and there wasn't a thing in town he didn't know, making him one hell of an information broker. If it was in Vale, Junior knew about it. Anyone who was dissatisfied with his services soon found themselves in a very painful position, except for HER. Junior's nuts were still sore from where she had put them in a vice grip. To add insult to injury, she had proceeded to trash his club and beat the hell out of his men, including Melanie and Militia. His sources told him her name was Yang Xiao Long, a Huntress in training at Beacon. If that didn't complicate things enough, his sources also told him that she was romantically involved with the Raven. Junior knew of his reputation enough for him to know it would be wise to stay the hell away from Yang. He did value his life after all. "Junior, some nutjob wants to see you." Melanie said, and Junior nodded.

"Send them up." He said, and when Melanie had said it was a nutjob, she wasn't kidding. It was a woman dressed in a maid outfit, a golden cross on her chest, black hair tied in pigtails and holding and umbrella in one hand and a suit case in the other.

"I heard you are the one to go to for information." She said, her voice nasally.

"Depends on what you want to know." Junior said.

"I wish to know the locations of these three individuals." She said, and laid out three pictures. Junior's eyes widened when he saw the faces. They were only 17, yet these three were rumored to be better than some Hunters.

"They're at Beacon Academy. Normally I'd charge you for this information, but seeing as you obviously have a death wish, I'll give it to you for free." Junior said. The woman bowed.

"Gratitudes." She said.

"What ever. Just get the hell out of my club fruitcake." Junior said.

"You should be more respectful. I was in the war, you know." She said, and promptly left. Junior shrugged, before turning back to his drink.

A/N all you fans of Dark Swamp by Nowacking should recognize her. She was in the war after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Psycho-Maid

**A/N: An elaboration on Ed's Nanites: they enhance his aura control by an enormous amount, enabling him to channel it into wounds to heal, or to his muscles to strengthen them, like he did to his leg muscles when chasing the cheetah man. Don't be expecting a terribly long fight with Psycho Maid.**

The maid was in a motel inside Vale, looking at the pictures she showed that rude informant. How dare he treat her that way, didn't he know she was in the war? She'd teach him manners later, because now she had to figure out how to get at her rivals. They were living in Beacon, and she might be able to sneak in tonight when the guards changed shift. She would have to monitor from afar, and when her opening presented itself, she would take it! "Oh yes my rivals, soon you will pay for beating me!" She said, laughing maniacally, staring at pictures of Edward Gawain, Allen Poe, and Damian Cross.

Al and Ed were sitting in Oobleck's class, waiting for class to start. "So, you and Yang huh?" Ed asked.

"Yeah. Happened the day you woke up. We're taking things slow, and today I'm gonna ask Ruby during Combat Strategy if she's ok with it." Al said. "I wanna surprise Yang, so don't tell her."

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed." At that moment, a blur ran into the classroom, and Bartholomew Oobleck stopped in front of the map of Vytal.

"Good morning class, please turn to page 485 in your textbooks." He said, before zipping to another part of the map, pointing at Mistral. During the whole lesson, Ed prayed for his friend. While it mostly appeared that Ruby was the little sister with a very protective big sister, it worked the other way around too: Ruby was fiercely protective of Yang. One time, when the groups had all I  
gone to see a movie shortly after Ed arrived at Beacon, two guys tried to grope Yang. Ruby promptly beat them to bloody pulps, and Ed wondered what would happen when Al would ask her for permission to date Yang. Damian was in that class, he'd film it for him.

Yang sat in Port's class, trying to figure out his mustache. She though it was a mouth-toupee; Nora thought it was an alien organism sent to observe us and report back to its alien overlords, resulting in the world being destroyed. Blake thought it was a new Grimm; Ed thought it was one of his dad's experiments in hair growth gone awry; Pyrrha thought it was a large parasite; Jeaune thought it expanded into head armor; Ruby thought it was an advanced AI based off of Ozpin's brain called 'Alpha'; and Ren, ever the buzzkill, said it was facial hair.

"Chimeras are man-made Grimm, created by bonding two different Grimm into one body on the genetic level. They were an attempt by the governments to find a way to control the Grimm, but the experiment went haywire." Port said. "Scientists for terrorist organizations, such as the White Fang or the Burning Torch, have found ways to recreate the experiments, constantly producing new combinations of the deadliest monsters." Port gestured to the cage in the far corner of the room. "I have managed to capture one such beast, and I'd like for one of you to demonstrate how to do this. However, only the bravest, strongest, and utterly reckless will be strong enough to fight one of these abominations." Everyone turned their heads to look at Nora, who was doodling a picture if her and Ren on a unicorn, then to Yang. Yang shrugged.

"Alright." She said, and went down to the floor. Port nodded, before opening the cage. Yang activated her Ember Cecilia, as a monster that had the top half of an Ursa, but the lower half of a King Taijutu. It slithered towards her before swiping with its claws. She ducked, and punched it, releasing a shotgun blast from her gauntlet. It wrapped its tail around her arm, and she winced as she felt the acidic skin of the Taijutu burn her arm. She pulled back and decided it would be best if she focused on the Ursa part, switching to her long range ammo. She released a volley of shots at it, alternating between each gauntlet until it thudded to the ground, it's body dissolving into ash.

"Excellent work as always, Ms. Xiao Long, now report to the nurses office to get that nasty burn looked at. Taijutu poison can be quite deadly if left untreated." Port said, and the bell rang, signaling the end of class. "See you all tomorrow. Have a fine day, and stay vigilant!" He said, and Yang made her way to the nurse's office, when her soon-to-be-boyfriend came up beside her.

"Hey, how was- Dust, what the hell happened?" Al asked, gingerly touching her arm.

"I punched a chimera that was part King Taijutu, nothing serious." She said.

"If you say so. Listen, I gotta get to class. See you later." He said, giving her a quick kiss before leaving. She entered the nurse's office, and got her burn healed up pretty quickly. She was about to head to her next class, when a hand put a rag over her mouth.

"Don't struggle. It'll be over in a minute. Then, you will help me destroy my rivals." A nasally voice said, and Yang turned right before she passed out to see a woman in a maid uniform smirking at her.

One hour later

Weiss and Velvet exited their Dust Management class for students who used complex Dust-based weaponry, such as Weiss's Myrtenaster or Velvet's pistols. "See ya later Velvet." Weiss said, and Velvet was about to say the same thing, when they both felt a pricking sensation in their necks. They looked in the direction it came from, to see Psycho-Maid standing there, before they fell unconscious. Psycho-Maid smirked. In her surveillance of her rivals, she found that they were close to the three girls she had knocked unconscious. If they were in danger, her rivals couldn't deny her challenge like they had before, and it would give them motivation to defeat her, making them fight at their best.

"Soon." She said, picking up the two girls and vanishing just as all the classes let out. Ed searched for Weiss, as after this period they would meet up by the lockers.

"Guess she had to hurry to her next class." He said, before heading to his Equipment Management class. However, his gut told him something was wrong, that something had happened to her. He quickly brushed it off. Weiss had a good reason, she always did.

That Afternoon

Blake and Ed exited their last class of the day. Normally, Ed would head home while Blake went to the library to meet up with Ruby. Today, Ed thought he'd get Blake's opinion on his best friend's predicament. "Blake, theoretically speaking, say a guy wanted to go out with Yang, but he didn't want to seem like a shallow jerk since they've only know each other two weeks. What would Ruby do if that person asked Ruby for permission?" He asked. Blake raised an eyebrow at the odd question.

"You're not planning to cheat on Weiss are you?" She asked.

"Not in a million years. Al and Yang have been, I don't fucking know, waiting to make whatever's between them official. Al said he'd ask our favorite cookie loved during their class together." Ed said. Blake's eyes widened.

"Shit! We need to hurry!" She said. "Ruby's fiercely protective of Yang, and she doesn't know Al as well as you do. If she thinks Al's intentions are less than pure, she'll make him prove himself to her." The part-Fauna said.

"How'll she do that?" Ed asked.

"In Ruby's mind, with a LOT of bleeding and begging."

Al hid behind a rock. 'Shit! Where the hell is she?' He frantically thought. It had started peaceful enough: their teacher had told them to work in pairs, and Al had partnered up with Ruby. They had started chatting during their spar, until Al told her that he wanted to start dating Yang. That was when the adorable, socially awkward 15-year old appeared, and was replaced by this demon.

"Oh Allllll." She said, slicing a rock in half. "Come on out and it'll be over in a minute." She blasted another to oblivion. "After all, I can't just let you get away with wanting my sister for her body." Al nocked an arrow.

"I don't want her for just her body! I'll admit, it's a VERY nice body, but that's not why I want to go out with her!" He let it fly, only for Ruby to slice it to the ground. "I really like her, honest!"

"You've only known her for two weeks!" Ruby sliced the rock Al was behind, and Al gulped as her silver eyes glowed with murder. "You barely know each other!"

"So? You ever hear of love at first sight?" Al started running as Ruby chased after him, swinging Crescent rose madly.

"Get back here so I can kill you!" She yelled.

Damian watched the whole scene unfold. Class had ended twenty minutes ago, but the teacher thought it was for everyone's safety that no one interrupt. So Damian was filming the whole thing, I mean someone had to right? One of the best fighters in the world, being chased by a 15-year old, would make a hell of a home movie. He saw Blake and Ed come up next to him.

"Dammit, we're too late." Blake said.

"This is pretty damn funny. I've got the whole thing in video." Damian said.

"We should probably step in before she kills him." Ed said.

Al dodged Ruby's slash and drew Nevermore, but Ruby knocked it out of his hand, and he flexed his talons. She was about to swing down on his head when Blake's ribbon wrapped around Crescent Rose and yanked it out of her hands. "Ruby, calm down." Blake said.

"Ruby, it's ok." Ed said. "I've known Al for years, and I can guarantee that he won't do ANYTHING to hurt Yang." Ed said.

"But how can I know he's telling the truth? He's only been here two weeks!" Ruby said.

"Ruby, right before I arrived here, what were your thoughts on Weiss?" Ed asked.

"She's a great friend." Ruby said.

"Ok, and when I showed up, you didn't know me, you didn't know if you could trust me. I was just some guy Weiss said was her boyfriend. Yet now, we're great friends! Just give Al a chance." Ed said. "Besides, I know him. He's not the kind of guy who lies about stuff like that. Just give him a chance alright?" Ruby looked at Al.

"Alright, but if you do ANYTHING to hurt her-" she picked up Crescent Rose and sliced a rock in two. "-you get the idea."

"And I'll let you know, a lot worse have tried." Al said, before offering his hand. "We good?" She looked at it, before shaking it.

"We're good." She said, and helped him off the ground.

"Man, you got your ass handed to you!" Damian said, walking over to his old friends.

"Shut up. You have no idea how scary she can be." Al said, when Al, Ed, and Damian's Scrolls started beeping. They pulled them out, seeing their significant others.

"All three are calling us at once?" Ed wondered aloud, and they opened the scrolls.

"Greetings rivals." The nasally voice of Psycho-Maid said. The threes eyes all widened.

"Oh shit not that crazy bitch again!" Ed said.

"I have been looking for you all for quite sometime. I have captured the Schnee Heiress, the blonde woman, and the rabbit Fauna, and if you wish to see them again, alive, you will do exactly as I say." Psycho-Maid said.

"Or how's about this: you tell us where they are, and we'll kill you in the least painful way possible!" Al said.

"Failure to comply will result in more of this." Psycho-Maid said, and soon the screams of the three girls sounded.

"You bitch! When we find you, we'll finish what we started!" Damian said.

"That is exactly what I'm hoping for." The voice said, before the call ended.

"Dammit. How'd she find us?" Al asked.

"I should have known she wouldn't give up. That bitch is too insane." Ed said.

"What should we do?" Damian asked.

"We tell Ozpin, then we do whatever she wants. We can't risk their lives while see has them." Ed said.

"Um, who was that?" Ruby asked.

"She's never given us her name. About a year ago, we were all protecting a Schnee Executive who was being targeted by a crime lord. The crime lord sent that woman after us. We fought her off, and kept her from accomplishing her mission. She's been coming after us ever since, saying we're her 'rivals'. It looks like she's finally made it personal." Al said. "Look, we'll handle this. Knowing her, if anyone other than the three of us show up, she'll kill Yang, Weiss, and Velvet without hesitation."

"She wants to fight us, I say we give her what she wants." Ed said, and the other two nodded in agreement. Before the day the sun would rise tomorrow, blood would be spilled.

That Night, Vale. Shipping yards

Ed, Damian, and Al marched into the heat of combat together just as they had done so many times before, only this time, there was no joking, wisecracks, smartass remarks, or boasts. There was instead a silence, all three of then anticipating anything the maid would throw at them. "Greetings rivals." She said, appearing on a holographic screen on a shipping container next to them. They saw Weiss, Velvet, and Yang bound and gagged, all three of them with electrodes attached to them. "As you can see, they are no worse for wear than they were when I called you earlier. The war taught me I should treat my prisoners with respect." She said.

"What the hell are you talking about? There hasn't been a major war in Vytal since the Faunus Rebellions!" Ed said, and Psycho-Maid's face twitched before she pressed a button out of the screens view. The three girls all screamed in pain, and the threes faces scrunched in anger.

"Defeat me, and they will go free. If you lose, I will kill them." The maid said, before winking off the screen.

"Al, can you sense her?" Ed asked, and Al closed his eyes. Whereas Ruby had her speed, Weiss had her signals, and Pyrrha had her power over magnets, Al had he ability to see aura with his eyes, making it useful for tracking. He saw three auras, one white, one yellow, and one a shade of purple, and a pale blue aura running towards him.

"She's on her way over. I know where they are, but we need to take care of the crazy." Al said, and Damian and Ed nodded.

Ruby, Blake, and team JNPR were all waiting in a van nearby, ready to move on a moments notice. "Ruby, I'm worried too, but have faith in Al." Blake said, grabbing Ruby's hand in hers.

"I guess this is where I see if he really cares about Yang as much as he says." Ruby said.

"Beta Team, this is Alpha." Ed said through the communicator. "Hostile is on the move. Sending location of hostages now." Soon, a box number appeared on a screen. "We'll deal with her. Just get them out if there."

Psycho-Maid observed her targets from the shadows. This was one of many tactics taught to her in the war, and it was serving her well. How dare those barbarians insult the war! She'd teach them a thing or two right before she killed them.

"Does she really think we don't know where she is?" Ed whispered.

"She probably doesn't think we've learned anything by now." Al replied in a hushed tone, and drew an arrow with an explosive tip on it. "On three. One…two…" he aimed at where their enemy was. "Three!" He launched it at her, and she dodged it, but was knocked back by the explosion. She landed in front of Crucifix's barrel.

"Make a move. I dare you." Damian said.

"I must take a moment to consider this." The maid said.

"Is she fucking serious?" Ed asked.

"I have taken a moment to consider this. I must decline. I see no way out of this where I can survive." She said.

"Good. Now nighty night." Al said, before knocking out the maid. "Beta, status?"

"Uh, we've got a slight problem." Jeaune said. A few minutes later, the three were where their women were being held hostage, seeing what looked like a timer counting down.

"From what we've been able to tell, it's a bomb set to go off if we open it. We could try to disable it, but there are fail safes in case of that." Blake said.

"Stand back." Ed said, and rolled up his right sleeve. The knuckles of his arm began glowing, electricity cackling around the hand. He rammed it into the panel, and the panel blinked off. "There we go."

"What the hell was that?" Ruby asked.

"A new upgrade it got my mechanics to build. My arm can emit an electrical current, and it can disable most electronics." Ed said, and yanked the door open. They all went in and untied the three girls.

"Ed!" Weiss said, knocking her boyfriend to the ground with a hug.

"I knew you'd be here for me." Yang said, giving Al a passionate kiss, making sure to slip in a little tongue to show her thanks.

"Thanks Damian." Velvet said, and was about to hug him in thanks, when he kissed her. It took her a moment to register it, before she kissed back.

"I've been waiting to do that for awhile now." Damian said.

"Alright lovebirds, let's get out of here. The cops should be here for Bozo Bitch in a few minutes." Ed said, and. Thy began exiting the shipyard, when they saw Psycho-Maid standing up.

"My rivals…defeat…rivals…the war…" she muttered and aimed a gun at them. "DIE!" She yelled, when with a flick of his wrist, Damian drew a gun from Crucifix and shit her in the shoulder.

"Why the hell didn't we for her up?" He asked, and Ed knocked her out while Al got out some rope. He tied her up, and left a little bow on top for added effect.

"Alright, NOW we can go home." Damian said.

Two Hours Later

"Well, she's behind bars for good." Ed said. Everyone was heading to bed, leaving only Weiss and him in the living room. "You sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine." She said. "Listen, Ed, you don't have to sleep out on the couch."

"Well, there's nowhere else to sleep, and we still haven't bought a new bed for the guest room. Where else would I sleep?" He asked. Weiss blushed about what she was about to ask.

"W-well, you c-could sleep with me." She said, and Ed blushed madly. "But not like that! We could just…sleep. We don't have to actually do anything like THAT." She said.

"A-alright." He said, and followed Weiss into her room. They climbed under the covers, and Weiss snuggled into his chest.

"Warm…" she muttered, and Ed chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you Weiss." He said, kissing her head.

"Love you too…" she replied, and the two drifted to sleep in each other's arms. At that moment, Ed remembered a very important day coming up soon, a day that brought a smile to his face.

In one week was his and Weiss's 5-year anniversary. He'd spent the last two away from her, so he'd have to do something extra special to make up for it. Only one idea crossed his mind, and it made him extremely nervous, even more so than when he fought the Golem orAdam. But this was the woman he loved, the one who kept him going for two years. He'd do anything to make her happy, and this just might help do it. It'd be a lot of work, but he'd get it done. 'Just you wait Princess. It'll be a day you'll never forget.' He thought, and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
